


As Far As Anyone Knows

by Arisprite, username_goes_here



Series: Yuuko Ichihara’s Hitsuzen: Four Star Restaurant and Bar [16]
Category: xxxHoLic
Genre: Complications because of family, Family, Holy cow this got away from me, M/M, NYC, Texting, Travel, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-01
Updated: 2016-04-29
Packaged: 2018-05-30 14:57:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 30,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6428860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arisprite/pseuds/Arisprite, https://archiveofourown.org/users/username_goes_here/pseuds/username_goes_here
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>We are a nice normal family</i>
</p><p> </p><p>Family always complicates things, both Watanuki and Doumeki find. With unexpected trips, invasive questions, and long lost relations, the two separated over distance will find they can grow closer than ever. </p><p>The long family novel that no one asked for. Watanuki's and Doumeki's families all make appearances, which means more original characters and more chaos. That's what family is for, isn't it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Watanuki didn’t usually lose track of things. His apartment was meticulous, his schedule organized, and is kitchen was perfect. He didn’t forget things, either, for the most part. A combination of a good memory for details, and a phone calendar that he usually updated provided a life of few surprises (aside from Yuuko related mishaps and working around Doumeki’s plans). 

So, when Watanuki got the call from his mother on a Monday evening, telling him that she was set to leave with him, to New York that Wednesday… he was floored to find he’d had to check the date to make sure she wasn’t mistaken. He’d completely forgotten. 

His dad was getting married, in the middle of July, which apparently it _was_ and thank god he’d bought his tickets and settled his days off a long time ago, back when his dad and Miranda had set a for sure date, because now he was supposed to fly out on Wednesday morning. His mom had a conference that same week in NYC, so though she wasn’t going to the wedding (probably a bit weird) she had made plans to fly with him, since the times worked out, and she could store her car at his apartment. His flight would leave in less than two days, and he wasn’t ready. At all. 

He’d forgotten not to buy groceries he could get rid of in less than a week. He’d forgotten to ask Himawari to water his plant. He’d forgotten to _tell Doumeki_ he was leaving. And he’d forgotten to mention to his mother that he was leaving behind a boyfriend. 

Well, he was pretty much the worst son ever, not mention a terrible life planner. 

In a flurry of panic, he’d agreed to host his mother Tuesday night, and pack for the trip, and then tore through his kitchen to find out what he could make to use up the perishables before he left, because he’d be gone a week, and he should probably just toss all that produce because even if he and Doumeki were okay with almost wilty lettuce, didn’t mean he should serve it to his mother- 

Doumeki. Doumeki was supposed to come over tomorrow night after his shift. He had to call and cancel, let him know that he’d be going out of town, and that he wouldn’t see him for a week. (Watanuki ignored the slightly tight feeling in his chest at that). He’d have to cancel dinner tomorrow night. Because, because his mother would be here, and Akira knew nothing about Doumeki. Well, almost nothing. He’d mentioned dates, just not _dating_. Just not boyfriend. He wasn’t one of those people that put their relationship up on Facebook or anything! But, it had been over four months that they’d been together, and that was just… well it was awful. 

Watanuki paused, with his hands on the suitcase from storage, and determined to call Doumeki as soon as he got this upstairs, to cancel the plans and tell him that he wouldn’t be able to see him before he left. 

Then, he got distracted by the shirts in his closet, wondering what one wore to their father’s second wedding. 

Then, he was too busy folding clean laundry, and then he misplaced his phone, and then he decided to tell him when he saw him next, Tuesday morning at the restaurant, but it was busy with breakfasters for some reason, and he didn’t get a moment alone to talk to him, and before he knew it, he was standing in a clean living room, with his suitcase packed and things ready to leave, and hearing the knock on his door that was his mother. He scrambled to the door, and tried to unlock it, missed and had to try again. Apparently, he was more frazzled than he thought. 

“Ah, hi Mom!” he greeted, falling into Japanese and smiling as he opened the door to usher her in. 

Akira Watanuki smiled, and came in. 

“Hello Kimihiro, it’s so good to see you!” she said. 

“You too!” Watanuki smiled, and grabbed her bags for her. Sometimes he forgot to be homesick, up until one of his parents would call or visit him, and then he’d realize how much he missed them. Ah, adulthood. He pulled his mom’s bags in, letting her follow into the living room after him. 

“How was your trip? Are you ready for your conference tomorrow? Or is it the next day? I can’t remember. I’ve been running around all over. Busy at the restaurant, ah ha.” He put the bags on the floor in the middle of the room, before turning back to Akira. “How are you? You drove, is the Mazda still running, wait no, you said you got a new - I’m rambling. It’s just really nice to see you.” 

His mother laughed at him. “Oh, Kim, I forgot about your runaway mouth,” she said, fondly cupping his face, before pulling him in for a hug. She held him for a moment, and Watanuki closed his eyes and savored it, before she pulled back. “You’ve grown. And filled in a little too. You were so skinny,” she said, looking up (up!) at him, before poking that ticklish part in his side that only she knew about. (And dammit, if Doumeki ever found out!) 

“Rude!” he laughed, curling away from the poke. “Insult my appearance and tickle me. I take it back, it’s not nice to see you in the least,” he said, grinning at her. 

“I retain the motherly right to poke you however much I like,” Akira returned. He laughed once more, and hugged her again. 

“Oh, I’m making dinner. Obviously. Ah, the floor, how are they? No, how are you? Ah! Sit on the couch, I’ll make you that tea you sent!” 

He led Akira over to sit on the couch, and she laughed as he thought of three things at once, and flailed in all directions. Hey, it wasn’t his fault that he’d not gotten any of her poise. She could blame his father. 

“Dinner sounds lovely,” she said, “And I’m fine, everyone’s well and sends their love. I have gifts in my bag from them.” 

“Gifts? Oh, no they didn’t have to do that!” he insisted, waving his hand in front of his face. 

“They miss you. _Almost_ as much as I do,” Akira said, smiling. “So,” she patted the couch next to her, and he forced himself to sit still.” Tell me about you! What is the restaurant like? What friends do you have? Your apartment is very nice, though I think you need some decorations.” 

Watanuki’s lips quirked, remembering his childhood home; a small apartment, but filled tastefully with beautiful paintings, and elegant décor, and as he got older, antique artifacts that had been passed down in his family. In contrast, his place was rather plain. Clean, and neat, but just lacking that touch of homeyness. 

“Mm,” Watanuki agreed, frowning. “You’re right. It’s… See, I kept thinking I wasn’t going to be here much longer, but, then I kept not moving, and… I really should do something with it.” 

“How have you been here, darling?” Akira asked, brushing his bangs back. 

Watanuki grinned. “Oh, I’m fine! It’s been really good. Well, it’s- work is good. But, I enjoy it. And, well, my apartment is nice and the people here are lovely. Almost as good as everyone back home.” Watanuki stumbled for something else to say, something that wasn’t what was coming back into his mind, after the excitement of seeing her again. Because, the time was ticking on, and Doumeki was probably already on his way… “Ahhh, let’s see… Um… There’s… I have friends, and people. I had a fish, briefly. You knew that. And a plant. I have a plant, that’s… all.” 

Akira was watching him with an eyebrow raised, probably well aware that something had shifted, and that was very much not all. 

“That’s… great honey,” she said, unsure. “Odd phrasing.” 

Watanuki looked down at his lap. “That’s… all to say. I mean.” He paused. “I- There’s-” 

His mother was just watching him, and Watanuki knew that she could get any information out of him that she wanted, just by giving him that look. And this was, this was so terrible. 

“I invited someone for dinner tonight, well, they were longstanding plans, but I didn’t cancel them because I forgot.” Watanuki was rambling again, and his mother lifted her chin. 

“Oh, well, if you have plans tonight, I can find somewhere to be-” 

“No, I want you to be here at the same time as this person, but I-, I forgot to tell them. Or, well, I put off telling him, and now I’ll have to explain, oh my god I’m a complete idiot!” 

Akira put a hand on his shoulder, calmly reassuring him what she called his Kimmy-panics. “It’s alright, honey. I’m sure whomever you invited will understand,” she said. “And you know I’d be glad to meet one of your friends.”

“I don’t think he will, Dammit!” Watanuki looked at the door, as if Doumeki was going to knock right then. He didn’t, but he still could, as it was close enough to the time he usually showed up. Maybe he should text him, and warn him, but then again, he was probably driving, so he didn’t want him to get distracted. There was also a small part of him, that really wanted his mother to meet Doumeki, and he didn’t want Doumeki to bail just because she was here. But that was dumb, and unfair, and god he really should have talked about this already. But nope. No, he was stupid and put it off, and now he was about to introduce his mother and boyfriend, and neither of them knew the other one was there, and-

“I’m dating someone, his name is Doumeki Shizuka, and he’s coming for dinner, but I can tell him not to come if you don’t want to meet him, or you want to talk to me, or something…”

It all spilled out in one breath, like it tended to do, and then he was just standing there, waiting for his mother to respond, heart beating far too fast. 

He didn’t even know why he had waited so long to tell her. It’s not like she didn’t know Watanuki’s dating history already, what with a boyfriend (sort of) and then a girlfriend, and then his dating around at the restaurant. Not that she knew as many details as maybe Himawari did, but still. She would have probably been surprised - it had been four years since he’d exclusively dated anyone - but it wasn’t like Watanuki actively hid things from his mother, and dammit he was such an idiot. 

Akira blinked, and then looked at him with a frown on her face that was so much like his own. “Kimihiro, you didn’t let that poor boy come to dinner to meet the mother of his boyfriend without telling him first?” she demanded, and Watanuki flinched. “How could you?” 

Watanuki put his head into his hands. “I know! It’s terrible! What should I do? Should I call him? Text? I can’t just- Oh, god he’s going to be so mad at me. Are you mad at me?” he asked, anxiety at a breaking point. 

Akira sighed, and put her hand on his back, where he was hunched over. 

“Kimihiro, you need to communicate better. You can keep things from me if you feel you need to, but if you like this boy, then you have to talk to him.” 

She stood, brushing off her business jacket. “I should go, give you time to talk to him. I-” 

Then there was a knock at the door. 

 

Watanuki tensed, like it had been a gunshot. Or maybe his death knell. 

“Oh god. Just,” he stood up. “Just wait here, and I’ll talk to him outside.” He stepped towards the door, and then whipped around, and clasped Akira’s hands. “I’m sorry for this. I’ll explain, and well, let’s see if he stays for dinner.” He laughed, once, though it wasn’t funny, and then headed to the front door before Doumeki got mad at being left on the step on top of everything else. 

Watanuki opened the door, stepped out quickly, and closed it behind him, probably looking far too panicked, if Doumeki’s surprise was anything to go by. 

“Oi,” Doumeki said, sounding confused, but Watanuki cut him off. 

“My mom-” he began in Japanese, and so switched back to English quickly. “You remember that my dad is getting married- well it’s like next week, and I totally forgot, so my mom is inside, because she’s flying out with me tomorrow, and I didn’t call you to tell you any of that, or cancel tonight, because I’m a dumbass. So, you’re invited to dinner, I told her about you, but you can leave if you want to, too.” Watanuki finished and gulped in a breath. 

Doumeki, oh gosh, he looked surprised. He looked scared. Watanuki hated that he’d put that (still, admittedly, slight) expression on his face. Watanuki felt _horrible_. 

“I - I can’t believe I forgot, and I’m a complete, I’m an idiot. I’m - I’ll make it up to you! I’ll make you whatever you want for dinner for a week. More, um,” 

Doumeki put his hand up, staying his rambling. “Wait, you’re leaving tomorrow? And she- what did she say?” 

Watanuki pressed his lips together. “She said I need to communicate better…” 

Doumeki looked like he agreed. “How long will you be gone?” 

“Just one week,” Watanuki said, voice still quick and panicking. Doumeki looked upset, displeased at everything and Watanuki just, well, he was such an idiot! 

“She’s in there now?” Doumeki asked, looking like he was calming, steadying, but Watanuki couldn’t get that moment of startlement from his mind. He’d need to apologize profusely later. 

“Yeah, but we both would understand if you don’t want to come in, or don’t want to stay, or -” 

“It’s okay,” Doumeki breathed out. “What do I call her?” 

“Oh, Um. I. Don’t know. Probably Akira-san. That’s what she had my old friends call her. Which was funny because they thought her name was Akirasan all squished together, and- that’s not the point…”

“Alright,” Doumeki said. He looked like he was steeling himself, before he reached out to quickly clasp Watanuki’s hand, before letting go. “I’m ready.” 

Watanuki immediately missed the warmth, which was dumb because they didn’t even hold hands all that much. But, that meant that Doumeki wasn’t _too_ mad at him. Watanuki looked up and down the hallway, before leaning up and pressing his lips to Doumeki’s in what he hoped was a start to apologizing. Then, he pulled back, and led him into the apartment. 

“Now that everyone is in agreement that I’m an idiot… Mom, this is Doumeki Shizuka, and-” Watanuki stumbled, not sure what to call him. They’d gone through this when he met Doumeki’s parents; it really was too complicated for them to go by their last names, but he’d gotten stuck in the habit. “-and I’m… dating him.” 

There was a moment’s awkward pause. 

“Nice to meet you,” Doumeki said, politely. True to form, his mother was unflappable. 

“Please, call me Akira-san,” she said, extending her hand to shake. “And you’re Doumeki?” 

Doumeki nodded. “My first name is Shizuka,” he said, explaining Watanuki’s blunder. Watanuki tried to push the blush from his face. 

Watanuki nodded, stepping back from the two’s meeting. “Mhm, ...Shizuka is a history major, and just took a class on the history of Asia, and you two can talk about that or something else, while I get started on dinner, are there any requests?” 

Doumeki, still with that polite face on, looked to his mother. Akira smiled at him; an angel that one. 

“Do you have any favorites? I’m sure you get to try his recent experiments much more than I do.” 

Doumeki shrugged. “I’ll eat anything,” he said. Which was polite, but also true, the garbage can. Watanuki felt a flash of… he’d admit it, fondness. 

“I know you’ll eat anything, but what do you _want_? Because-” Watanuki took a breath, and looked at the ground instead of either of them. “I messed up, and should have told you and that was mean.” He puffed up his cheeks, feeling very shame-faced. His mother was very particular about good manners and respect, having grown up in Japan with her traditional parents, and Watanuki hadn’t done a decent job at that today.

Still, Doumeki didn’t reply, just looking at Akira. She seemed to read Doumeki’s expression much better than he ever could - maybe it was a mother thing - and answered for him. 

“Well, what do you have Kimihiro? Perhaps if you told us what’s in your kitchen, we could make a decision.” 

She put her hand on Doumeki’s arm, and drew her with him to sit at the kitchen counter. Watanuki followed them to the kitchen, hammering his palm. 

“I have a lot in my kitchen right now, but since I’m going out of town, we should probably eat up some of the perishables. Let’s see, I have beef thawed, and a lot of cabbage. Tomatoes?” Watanuki was rummaging through things by this point, and then he glanced back at the other two. 

“I’ll throw something together. Mom, you can have the bedroom, if you wanted to take your things back there, and then we can get started on the rice?” 

Akira nodded, and stood from the stool, leaving Doumeki perched there alone. 

“Sounds good, honey,” she said, and came forward to brush her lips against Kimihiro’s ear as she passed by. “Now, apologize to your poor boyfriend, Kim.” 

Watanuki watched as Akira left the room, smiling mildly all the while. Then, he turned back to Doumeki at the counter, who’d let his polite face fall into a _definitely_ upset frown. Watanuki winced, feeling abruptly much worse. 

“She’s much nicer than me,” he said. “I… really, really really screwed up and you don’t have to stay, you can leave if you want and everyone would understand, and not hold it against you.” 

Watanuki stood in the middle of his kitchen, hands clasped in front of him, while Doumeki sighed, and closed his eyes for a moment. 

“I’m not leaving,” he said, in a low voice. But he was still frowning, still tense, still far too quiet, and Watanuki knew that it wasn’t okay, not in the least. 

“You’re upset, I-” Watanuki wrung his hands. “I can fix it, I can-” 

“I’m fine, just-” Doumeki glanced at the bedroom door, then breathing out. “Don’t… do that again.” 

Watanuki’s heart sank, and he stepped backwards, leaning against the opposite counter. “If you aren’t fine, don’t say- please, don’t-” Watanuki cut himself off, rubbing his hand over his face. “I won’t, I swear, I’d never- I mean, apparently I did, but I won’t do it again. I promise, I’ll fix it,” 

Doumeki lifted a hand to calm him down, and yeah, he supposed he was getting kinda frantic. 

“Watanuki, it’s fine. Your mom is nice, and it’s okay.” His voice was flat, but at least he looked at him, meeting his eyes. Watanuki took a breath, not sure why he was panicking so badly, and why _Doumeki_ was the one reassuring _him_ instead of the other way around. 

“I… Okay. Okay, but I still owe you.” 

Doumeki nodded, huffing. “At least three dinners. With dessert. When you get back.” 

“Done,” Watanuki said. “ And...yeah, I’m sorry about that too. We had plans next week, didn’t we.” 

“It’s okay,” Doumeki said. Watanuki still felt terrible, and Doumeki was way too patient with him, but at least he wasn’t leaving, like he did… last time they’d fought. Watanuki breathed in, and stepped away from the counter. 

“Okay,” Watanuki said, “Should I tell her to come back out?” 

Nodding again, Doumeki settled back on his stool. Watanuki smiled, grateful that they’d come to something of an understanding, and then rushed off to the back room to retrieve his mother. 

“Hey, sorry. Really, sorry. I sprung everything on you too.” 

Akira turned around, to see him hanging on the door of his bedroom, probably looking worse for the wear, and pulled him into a hug. 

“Oh, sweetie. I’m fine. A little surprise won’t hurt me.” She pulled back and brushed his face with her knuckles. “You know I love you,” she said in a soft voice. 

“I love you too,” Watanuki said, quietly. “Thank you. Sorry. I’ll get started on dinner now.” 

“Sounds good,” Akira said, and then paused, taking his hands. “But, honey, just one more thing. Mom question. Are you happy with him? I just want to know.” 

Watanuki frowned, as he thought about it. “I… feel a lot of things with him,” he told her. “But, yes. I’m happy. Don’t tell him that though! He’ll hold it over me!” 

Akira chuckled, and patted his hand. “As long as you’re happy.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doumeki and Akira bond.

Doumeki breathed out as Watanuki left the room, putting his elbows on the counter to rub his fingers against his temples. He was still reeling a little bit from the shock. Tonight had been unexpected, on a number of levels. 

Well, he dealt with the unexpected every day since asking Watanuki out, and he could do it for another night, especially seeing how upset Watanuki was with himself. Doumeki had been on the other end of this, introducing his own parents to Watanuki, and it had been stressful for both of them - to many nerves about the weight of whatever this step meant. But at least he’d given Watanuki warning before springing his parents on him. 

He knew Watanuki didn’t do it to be mean - he knew him better, and it was understandable to forget the date when the summer was flying by - but he was upset. Angry at Watanuki, which was a rare feeling. He didn’t want to stay, but Doumeki wouldn’t offend Akira-san by leaving, and he also didn’t want Watanuki to think that it was like last time: he wouldn’t leave Watanuki, and their relationship for this, even though Watanuki seemed to think it was terrible enough for that reaction, judging by his panic. In all honesty, the worst was over. Akira was nice, and calming, and Doumeki had already made whatever first impression he was going to make. All he had to do was socialize for the evening. It wasn’t the end of the world, and it wasn’t the end of them. Doumeki breathed in and then let it out slowly. 

Watanuki came out with Akira a moment later, taking a breath and heading into the kitchen. 

“Okay, I’ll get started. Don’t stare at me while I work, it’s weird,” Watanuki declared, grabbing his apron from the hook, and tying it around his back. Akira chuckled, and took the seat next to him. 

“So, Shizuka,” she started, and Doumeki was momentarily glad that she was on top of things. “Kim said you were in school for a history major? How do you like that?” 

He turned slightly more towards her, though usually his eyes did follow Watanuki’s movements in the kitchen (unless he was helping, which Watanuki made him do now and again) and looked towards her. Doumeki didn’t care too much for small talk generally, but this was important. 

“Yeah. My emphasis is history of Asia. I like it a lot.” 

Akira’s eyes brightened, and Doumeki couldn’t help but notice how Watanuki had gotten the curve of his cheek, and his upturned nose from her. She had brown eyes, but something about the shape reminded him of Watanuki as well. 

“Oh?” Akira said, interest strong in her voice. “I’ll have to send you some pictures of the items in my home. I have a few more rare items that you might find interesting.” 

“Really?” Doumeki asked, no longer feigning polite engagement. 

Akira nodded. “I’ve always had an interest in traditional Japanese items, and my grandmother had quite the collection. What I’ve managed to bring over from Japan doesn’t amount to much, but it is unique.” Akira laced her fingers under her chin. “If you ever come to visit me, I’ll show you what I have. Of course, some of it is Kim’s. I was just telling him, he needed to bring some of it out here and decorate.” She looked towards Watanuki, who waved a hand. 

“I know, I know, I’ll decorate. Send it to me, and I’ll put it all up.” Doumeki glanced at his boyfriend, glad to see that Watanuki looked less tense, less apologetic. He turned. “Mom, tell him about the sword,” he then said. “Oh, and the kimonos. And the paintings. Ah! We have this fan. An old, pretty fan, not just a fan, it’s all very lovely. You would like it.”

“You both will need to come out and visit some time, whenever you both are free. You can see it all,” Akira said, looking at Doumeki. 

“I’d like that,” Doumeki nodded, and not just to be polite. His interest was definitely piqued. 

Akira smiled, clapping her hands once. “Good. And the fan is very pretty; an entire village fishing scene, painted on silk. The detail is incredible. I have some dishes and pots that are wonderfully crafted, and the sword Kimihiro was talking about is from the 16th century, and is still sharp. My grandfather’s grandfather found it, and eventually it ended up in my living room.”

“Fascinating,” Doumeki said, leaning in one elbow. Akira certainly knew her history, and Doumeki had an interest in objects with history attached, especially when it related to his own heritage. “What province was it forged in?” 

“Mino. It’s a rather unique one. The mokume-game really jumps off the blade. I’ll send some of Kim’s things, with notes for you if you like?” 

“Very much,” Doumeki said, feeling that thrill of excitement about history that had drawn him to the field. He was good at sciences, but history caught his attention like no other subject did. 

Akira smiled at his enthusiasm, nodding. “Good. I’ll do that when I get home then.” 

Watanuki was looking at him oddly. “I had no idea you’d be so interested,” he said, and Doumeki lifted an eyebrow at him. He supposed he hadn’t really talked about his schooling much, save to complain when it was busy. 

“It’s interesting,” he said, half shrugging. 

Watanuki nodded. “You know, I think I do have a print in the back that I could put up.” 

“Which print?” Akira asked. 

Watanuki hummed, putting his knuckle on his chin. “I think it’s the one of the mountain, but it could be the one with the beach and the cranes. It’s in my storage.” Watanuki turned back to his cooking, stir frying thin slices of beef in a delicious smelling sauce, and chopping vegetables. The rice cooker was bubbling and Doumeki thought that this was his favorite time to be here, when all of Watanuki’s work was coming together, and he was relaxed and concentrating on preparing and displaying the side dishes and main meal to his satisfaction. 

Akira’s eyes were on him, and Doumeki turned, feeling slightly warm in the face, but he supposed the smile on her face meant that it was okay that he’d just been caught staring at her son. 

“So, Shizuka, what is it you want to do with your degree?” Akira asked, and Watanuki turned around too, looking curious. 

Doumeki hummed. He hadn’t spoken about it to many people, besides his advisor and parents - not even Watanuki that much. His goals had always felt private, but he didn’t think he’d mind sharing them now. 

“I plan to go to grad school for a Master’s Degree, then eventually a PhD, and then teach Folklore at college,” he said, with a bit of a nervous squeeze in his stomach. It was a pretty farfetched idea, as it wasn’t a general topic. It might not have a lot of interest, but even if only idle curiosity drew students in, he had his plan for the History major and he wanted to try. 

“Oh, wow, really?” Watanuki asked, turning completely from his cooking, and looking impressed. “That would be interesting. I’m sure folklore would be a really fun class to take. I would sign up for it.” 

Akira smiled, and leaned forward. “That does sound interesting! With your emphasis, then I suppose you’d want to focus on Asian folklore?”

Doumeki nodded. “I’ll probably have to branch out more, in order to keep up student interest, but that’s what I’d like, yeah.” 

“Professor of folklore,” Watanuki said, like he was trying out the phrase. He snapped his fingers, and looked at his mother. “Mom, send me that book of yours with all those stories, so he can look at it.” 

“I’ll send it along with the other things,” Akira said, meeting Doumeki’s eyes. 

“Thanks,” Doumeki said, feeling unaccountably touched by both Watanuki’s support and Akira’s. 

“Mhm, my grandfather sent it to us… Oh, I was about five, right Mom? A few of those stories scared the hell out of me.” Watanuki turned around and gestured to Doumeki. “There were illustrations and I was imaginative…” 

Akira smiled sympathetically. “My sweet son was up far too late, scared of the spirits. Poor dear.” 

Doumeki smiled to imagine a tiny Kimihiro, reading a scary story with wide blue eyes in the dark. It was ridiculously cute. 

“I scared myself on books about aliens,” Doumeki volunteered. “Kids are funny.” 

Watanuki laughed once, turning around again. “A… well, a friend of mine growing up. He was obsessed with aliens. Remember Matt, Mom? He thought they were so cool, talked about them non-stop.” Watanuki went back to the stove, still talking. “He was into aliens, and our friend Mel loved ghosts, and she’d tell these terrifying stories that kept me up at night, and then they’d talk about ghost aliens, and - I had weird friends, huh?”

“Darling, you were all weird,” Akira said. “Shizuka, I came home one day to find the three of them with an entire roll of red yarn strung through every room in the apartment, shower head and pantry included. To this day, I don’t know where they got so much yarn, but they were cleaning it up for an hour. 

Doumeki was chuckling, as Watanuki turned around, looking defensive. 

“Okay, that was Matt’s idea and Mel just showed up with the yarn. They were supposed to be lasers! So, that was not on me! And, why are you complaining, I knit you all very nice scarves from that. Well, they were passable…” Watanuki turned off the burner, pulling the pan from the stove to move it to the counter, when the rest of his mother's words seemed to process. “Hey, don’t call me weird, that’s not truee!” 

“It’s kinda true,” Doumeki said. 

“That isn’t true, and it’s very rude! Are you happy, Mom, my own stupid boyfriend thinks I’m weird!” Watanuki flailed in the middle of the kitchen. 

Akira smiled innocently, exchanging a look with Doumeki, and Doumeki felt abruptly far more comfortable with Akira than he did with most of his family members. It brought with it a surge of bravery, and the remembrance that Watanuki got as flustered with compliments as he did with insults. And he probably shouldn't insult Watanuki too much with his mother sitting right there. 

“It’s alright, I like you anyway,” he said, smirking a bit, and glancing at Akira out of the corner of his eye. She was laughing, and Doumeki relaxed further. 

Watanuki gaped at him, red faced. “I- that’s a dumb thing to say!” he insisted, turning away from them to get bowls out, definitely flustered and adorable. “Mom, flick his ear for me, I’m serving your damn food.” 

“Kim,” Akira chided, still laughing. “I’m not flicking his ear, I like him.” 

Doumeki felt a little embarrassed, but he was half smiling as well. 

“Fine, I’ll do it myself!” Watanuki replied, turning around, and yes he was blushing, and reaching across the counter to flick Doumeki’s ear. “See!” 

Doumeki rubbed his ear, pretending to be disgruntled, as Watanuki whirled around and started dishing out the food. It was a rice bowl, with meat and egg, and then side dishes of salad, and some cucumbers in vinegar. It all looked delicious. 

Watanuki slid the bowls in front of them, and dragged the third stool from the corner, so he could sit on the end of the counter. Akira looked at it all, and sighed out. 

“Oh, my child, I miss your cooking!” She elbowed Doumeki lightly. “You’re a lucky young man, you know.” 

“Damn right he is,” Watanuki agreed, passing out the chopsticks. Doumeki tilted his head slightly, looking at Watanuki for a moment. He knew that. It hadn’t been that long for them, or without its bumps, but it was certainly something he wanted to keep. 

Watanuki, still grumpy, looked up and realized that Doumeki was looking at him. Then, his expression softened.

“Mom, look away,” he ordered, and when Akira turned her head, Watanuki leaned in to give Doumeki a quick kiss. It warmed him from head to toe, and Doumeki smiled against Watanuki’s lips before he pulled away. They were both blushing, and looking sappy, and it was ridiculous.

“Can I turn back, boys?” Akira asked, her voice full of smiles. 

Watanuki leaned back, and nodded. “Yes, it’s fine now,” he said, and then picked up his chopsticks. 

“Itadakimasu?” Watanuki said, which he and Doumeki didn’t usually do, but it seemed right with Akira there. 

“Itadakimasu,” repeated both Doumeki and Akira, and then they all dug in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The sword Akira is talking about can be found here.  
> I took the description from the website pretty much word for word.
> 
> Doumeki's major and goal weren't really meant to be a secret, but I realized I'd never brought it up. So, Doumeki plans to be a professor, because I'm really fond of him being quietly passionate about educating, and his students like him because he's cute, even if his lectures are a little boring. He always hands back work on time, and answers student's emails, and works with them if they're struggling. Of course, this is far in the future, right now he's a hard working student. :)
> 
> Fun fact, this au kind of started because of stories from my job in a restaurant, and now a year later, I work in education so I have seen both sides of their work, haha. 
> 
> This scene with Akira was written in part with Rémy last year, so dialogue credit goes to her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After saying bye to Doumeki, Watanuki heads to NYC!

The evening went well, in Watanuki’s opinion, at least, _after_ Watanuki made a fine mess of everything, panicked ridiculously and nearly ruined two relationships! 

He may have been exaggerating a tiny bit, but still. 

Doumeki got along well with his mom, and they spent more time talking about ancient Japanese artifacts and historical stories that Watanuki vaguely remembered as bedtime stories. God, his mom was a nerd, he thought with a smile. He supposed his boyfriend was too. 

Before it got too late, Doumeki bowed out, to let the two travelers get some rest before their early flight tomorrow. 

“Do you need a ride to the airport?” he asked, and Watanuki absolutely wasn’t going to accept, because it was way early, and he knew that Doumeki had class tomorrow, and he’d need his sleep, but Doumeki had argued the point that it was nicer for his mom to not have to take a cab, so there went his protests. 

“Thanks,” Watanuki said, begrudgingly, and Akira smiled and showed both their gratitude a little more graciously. 

“Thank you, Shizuka,” she said, pulling him into a warm hug. “It was very nice to meet you.” 

“You too,” Doumeki said, smiling a small smile at her. Watanuki felt something warm him inside, knowing that Doumeki meant it. 

“See you both tomorrow morning then,” Doumeki said, once the times had been straightened out. Watanuki stood when Doumeki did, nervous for some reason. 

“I’ll walk you out,” he said, and Doumeki nodded, like that was a normal thing they did all the time, even though it wasn’t. Watanuki slipped on his shoes, stepping on the backs like he hated, and swiping something from the hook by the door on his way out. 

They walked down the flight of stairs, and towards Doumeki’s parking space (Doumeki obviously hadn’t noticed his mother’s car parked right next to where he normally parked, as his apartment had two spaces, and his mom had had the parking sticker for her car for years). In front of the car, in the empty lot, Watanuki stopped, and looked at Doumeki. 

“I really am… sorry,” he said, and Doumeki let out a breath, not sounding annoyed. 

“It’s okay. Your mom’s great.” 

“She is. But still. I’ll make it up to you.” 

Doumeki nodded, and looked at him, making him blush a bit. 

“What?” he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets, and pulling his shoulders up to his ears. 

“I’m gonna miss you. That’s all.” Watanuki went red, he was sure. It floored him sometimes how Doumeki could say these things with barely a warning or reaction. 

“It’s just a week,” Watanuki protested, hot in the face. “I’ll text you.” 

“Call me,” Doumeki corrected. 

“Okay, I’ll call too. _If_ I have time. I’m going to be busy, you know. Weddings are crazy!” 

Doumeki nodded, and looked at him again, before glancing around. Watanuki did too, and yup, no one was there, so it wasn’t unexpected when Doumeki pulled him in, pressing his lips on his forehead. That more than anything reassured Watanuki that Doumeki wasn’t mad at him, and something fluttered in his stomach; his heart thudding unevenly for a moment. 

He cleared his throat, and pulled his fist out of his pocket. “Here, this is for you, if you want it. You can eat whatever you want in the fridge, and please take care of the plants. And bring in the mail.” 

Doumeki put out his hand, and Watanuki dropped a small shiney key into it. His second spare. Himawari had the other one. She usually did take care of things when he went away, but. Well. Doumeki had bought half the groceries in the fridge, so it was only fair! 

After looking at the key for a moment, Doumeki looked up and nodded. 

“Good,” Watanuki said, as Doumeki got out his keys right then, and slipped them onto the ring. “Keep that safe, I don’t have another spare.” 

“Okay,” Doumeki said. 

“And, don’t forget that the front two plants need more water than the back ones.” 

“Alright,” Doumeki said, and Watanuki knew that he’d send him a detailed list about the care of those four pots, and Doumeki knew he would, so he was probably counting on that. Argh, what an annoyance. 

“And, toss anything that goes bad. I don’t want to come back to a smelly fridge.” 

“Okay, okay,” Doumeki said, reaching out to take his hand. Acceptable. “Fly safe.” 

“I’ll be sure to tell the pilot personally,” Watanuki said, rolling his eyes. 

“You know what I mean. I’ll see you in a week.” 

“You’ll see me tomorrow morning.” 

Doumeki didn’t seem to care, and tugged him forward again. Watanuki let him, because he’d been dealt a lot of crap from Watanuki this evening, and Doumeki deserved something he liked, even though they were out in the parking lot, and it made Watanuki ansty. He kissed him, and pulled away, smiling quickly as he stepped back. 

“Bye,” he waved, and Doumeki lifted his hand. 

“Bye,” Doumeki said, and climbed into the car. Watanuki turned to go back inside, so it wouldn’t look like he was watching him drive away, because… that was just dumb. 

 

~~~

Travelling passed by in the blur that it always did, with the anxiety of getting through security, and getting to the gate with his bag dragging on his shoulder, and his suit as it’s own carry on, and then falling asleep on his mom’s shoulder for the long long flight. At the airport, his mom kissed him goodbye, mentioned again that she really liked Doumeki, which made him blush, and then got into one cab and he got into another. He wouldn’t see her on the rest of the trip. 

It was Wednesday evening now, though it felt like early afternoon. The wedding was Sunday, and between then and now, Watanuki was sure there would be family events that he’d be required to go to. His dad’s side of the family wasn’t that big, but he knew that Miranda had four siblings, plus cousins. That was going to be insane. 

Then, he’d go with his dad and Miranda, and Mattie and Finn on a trip to Niagara Falls until Tuesday (he refused to think it as going with them on their honeymoon, but essentially… blech) He’d probably be saddled with the child care for most of it, which he didn’t mind at all. And then, fly home again the next Wednesday. It wasn’t that long at all. He’d be super busy the whole time. Probably Mattie and Finn wouldn’t let him have a single second of downtime. He wouldn’t have time to miss anyone.

He got out his phone, and sent a text from the back of the cab. 

_Got here safe, nyc is just like I remember it_

Watanuki hit send, and put the phone down, so he wasn’t staring at it, waiting for a response from Doumeki. It buzzed a second after he did anyway. 

_Good. You on your way to your dads?_

_Yeah, in the back of cab. So expensive, god_

_Why didn’t he come to pick you up?_

Watanuki frowned as he looked at the phone, not wanting Doumeki to judge his busy busy father. 

_Work, he’ll only barely beat me home. Miranda had to get the kids. My flight was inconveniently timed_

He could picture Doumeki’s frown, and it made him huff a little. 

_Still. You should make him pay for it_

_Maybe I will._ Watanuki replied, then he sent a second one. _I’ll be fine. I’m an adult, and remember I’ve lived here before. This is practically my neighborhood!_

_Okay, Peter Parker. Stay safe, no webslinging. Or super villains_

Watanuki rolled his eyes at Doumeki’s dweebery, connecting ‘neighborhood’ and New York to Spiderman in the blink of an eye.

_Hardy har har. I’ll keep my distance, then. Oh, we’re here, talk to you later!_

_Later_

Watanuki sat up as the cab driver slowed down in front of the house. His dad lived in Brooklyn, in the part of town where the buildings were old bricks, and trees older than his father were still growing strong. They had lived in a beautiful townhouse when he was growing up, and his dad was still there now. It had a tiny yard in the back, and a rooftop garden, and steps that led up to the green front door. Watanuki loved this place. 

He tugged his suitcase, and the bag his suit was in from the back, paid the cab driver, and smiled up at the house, before he walked up the steps. 

“Kim! Kid, you made it! You beat me back, I swore I’d make it before you!” 

Watanuki grinned, and turned to see his dad running up to him, arm in the air and waving wildly. Tom looked spastic, hair wild and wispy like his, and a smile so wide on his face. 

“Dad!” he said, and was wrapped up in a rough hug; as always, his dad squeezed tight enough to permanently indent around his waist. “Can’t breathe!” 

He was put down, and Tom grabbed his shoulders. 

“Ah, Kimmie, it’s soo great to see you! Did you make it safe? Your mother made it to her hotel? Everything went alright?” 

Watanuki coughed at the air refilling his lungs, and then laughed. “Yeah, dad, everything was fine. At least until you squeezed your oldest son to death.” 

Tom waved a hand. “Any son of mine would be made of stronger stuff than that. Now, come in, come in, we still beat Miranda so, at least I can hold that over her. Don’t tell her you got here first, I’ll give you a candy if you don’t.” 

“What am I, five?” 

“It works on your brothers,” Tom shrugged, and grabbed his suitcase, pulling it up the stairs. 

“I’m sure,” Watanuki said dryly. 

They entered the townhouse, and Watanuki sighed as the noise of the city dimmed, and he smelled the familiar home smell that he remembered from when he was eight. It was amazing how it was still the same. 

“So, we’re putting you up in the guest bedroom.” Tom kept talking, as he dragged the suitcase up the stairs and into the second bedroom. Watanuki followed after him, still holding his suit bag. “Mattie and Finn have been ordered to let you get some sleep, so they shouldn’t bother you, but...I’ll bet you end up with both of them anyway. Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay!” Watanuki laughed, waving a hand.

Tom grinned. “Good! Of course, this is just until Friday night, when my brother and sister in law will be coming into town, and bringing their kid. Miranda’s family is all East Coasters, but the other Lis live out by you. You remember Syaoran, right?” 

Watanuki did; his cousin was a brown haired boy just the same age as him. They hadn’t seen each other since they were very young, but he vaguely remembered the boy at 12 being a little bratty and blushing a lot. Then again, Watanuki had been brattier, so he wasn’t judging. 

“Wait, you said he lives near me? Where?” Watanuki asked, and Tom clicked his tongue. 

“Mm, not sure exactly. I don’t even remember where you live, half the time.” 

“Oh my god, Dad,” Watanuki said, saving his suitcase from his father and plopping it on the bed in the guest room (he remembered it being a toy room way back when, and from the looks of the closet, it kinda still was, just with better storage). 

Tom laughed. At that moment, the front door banged open, and Watanuki heard two pounding kids run along the hallways, shouting his name. 

“Is Kimmie here? Is he here?!” came the chorus, and Tom raised his eyebrow at Watanuki. Watanuki shook his hand, waving his hands, to keep him quiet, but his dad didn’t listen to him. 

“We’re in here!” he yelled, and the footsteps came closer, like thunder. Mattie and Finn appeared in the doorway, looking so much taller than they had the last time he’d seen them. 

“Kim!” “Kimmie!” they both yelled, and tackled him. Watanuki laughed, and let them hug him to the bed beneath him, pinning him. 

“Hey!! You guys are so huge! Hi Mattie, Hi Finn,” he said, hugging them both tightly, even as they were squishing his chest. “How are you guys?” 

“Good! Today at school, we talked about gems, and did you know that archey-logists dig up the gems from all over the world?! And-” Mattie began speaking, and Watanuki recognized his old habit of telling anyone who would listen about every detail of his day. He laughed, and listened as Mattie told him everything he could remember, and Finn bounced around him, interjected with his day, and correcting his brother on things at school, and what happened during their after school care. Apparently, they’d made paper airplanes and raced them, and it was quite the event for all the kids, but Mattie did _not_ win all the races. 

Miranda followed the boys in, smiling as she leaned on the door frame, arms folded. 

“Hey, Kim,” she said, and Watanuki smiled and nodded at her. 

“Hi, Miranda.” 

She and his dad had gotten together when he was a thirteen, so a rough age anyway for a kid with a dad across the country. He’d met her that summer, and disliked her, and they’d never really gotten along each summer since. Watanuki, looking back, knew it was a good thing that his Dad had found someone. That he had a family, instead of being alone… but still that thirteen year old inside him was unsure what to make of her. 

Tom had been standing aside, grinning as he always seemed to, when he snapped his fingers a look of dismay crossing his face. 

“Oh no! I forgot to make the reservations at the restaurant, arg! We’re not gonna be able to get in for dinner!” 

“Restaurant?” Watanuki asked, waving his hands that his dad would make plans to go to a restaurant that required reservations. “Oh, Dad, that’s okay, we don’t have to go somewhere fancy!” 

“But I wanted to show off my chef of a son to the chefs there!” Tom whined, and Watanuki flushed. 

“Dad…” he said, rubbing his neck. 

“Well, lucky for you both, I’m awesome,” Miranda said, lowering her phone. “Reservations made. 7:00 alright for everyone?” 

Tom gaped at her. “How did you- There’s a waiting list for days!” 

She grinned. “I told you, I’m awesome.” 

Tom leaned over to whisper to Watanuki. 

“She’s got dark magic, that’s what it is.” 

“Hey, you’re marrying her,” Watanuki said, shaking his head. “But, seriously, you guys didn’t have to. We could have ordered in, or-” 

“No way, josé! Only the best, for my five star chef son!” Tom declared, throwing his arm around Watanuki’s shoulders. 

“Four stars, Dad. The restaurant is only four stars.” 

Tom merrily ignored him, and spoke to the kids. 

“Alright boys, let’s get our best clothes on to go to dinner!”

They cheered and ran out of the room. Miranda smirked, and turned. 

“I’ll help them, Tom. Remember last time.” 

Tom winced, laughed and let her go. Watanuki huffed, remembering the whirlwind that was his Dad’s family. Tom turned to him. 

“Happy to be back for a while?” he asked, and Watanuki smiled and nodded. 

“Definitely!” he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there goes Watanuki, off to NYC! Sorry to those who hoped Doumeki would go to the wedding with him - it was just too short notice, and Doumeki's poor. The texting and phone calls will go on through the trip, and rest assured though Doumeki and Watanuki will have their individual plots as they go through this week without each other, they will also connect and communicate over the distance. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy Watanuki's family! The creation of Tom and his personality is due to username_goes_here. 
> 
> Next chapter will be Doumeki at home (from here on out, they will switch back and forth). Oh, and please let me know if the text formatting is okay - I'm just italicizing them.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doumeki tries to keep himself occupied at home.

Doumeki hadn’t realized how much he spent his time with Watanuki, until he wasn’t there. He was at home, Wednesday afternoon, nuking a burrito he’d stolen from Caleb - Caleb’s food was nearly fair game, so long as you replaced whatever you finished, but touching Sam’s food was punishable by death. LaVon didn’t label his, so Doumeki probably ate more than his fair share of his, or at least, he had before Watanuki came into his life - when LaVon came into the kitchen and nearly dropped his plate of nachos. 

“Dude! You scared me, what are you doing here?” 

Doumeki frowned a little, at the genuine surprise in his voice. 

“I live here,” he said, and LaVon shook his head, waving his free arm. 

“No, no, I mean, you’re _never_ here in the afternoon, and- is that a microwave burrito? What, did you fight with Watanuki again?” 

Doumeki frowned harder, and pulled his food out of the microwave, feeling defensive for some reason. 

“No. He’s out of town.” 

LaVon’s face morphed into something one might call joyous. “Really? We _have_ to hang out, I never see you any more!” 

Doumeki considered LaVon his friend, but he didn’t realize that LaVon wanted to hang out with him that badly. It incited a smidge of guilt, and he resolved to set aside some time for his roommates a little more regularly. And right now, he honestly had nothing better to do. Not even homework, as it was summer. How was his life so boring? 

“Definitely,” Doumeki said, taking a bite, and wincing because it was far too hot. He spoke through it, trying to let air cool it down. “Wanna kick around a soccer ball?” 

“Yes! Ah, but I have to go to a study group meeting first…” LaVon pouted, and ran a hand through his hair. “After, okay? I’ll be, like, an hour, tops.” 

“Cool,” Doumeki said, taking a cooler bite of the burrito. 

LaVon thumbs up him, and left, leaving Doumeki standing in the kitchen. Alone again. He blew out air from puffed up cheeks, recognized that as Watanuki’s habit and not his own, and then took another bite. 

This was going to be a long week. 

~~~~  
Doumeki went over to Watanuki’s apartment that afternoon, instructions on the care of the four potted plants Watanuki kept on his back balcony in his phone. The heat that had sprung up hit him as he opened his car door, and he found he was glad that he and LaVon wouldn’t go running around until a bit later, because it might cool off by then. 

The mailbox was right in front, so he picked up Watanuki’s things, and tucked them under his arm before moving into the apartment building. He jogged up the familiar stairs, and headed towards Watanuki’s door, pulling out the small key that Watanuki had given him, only to pause and look down at it. He knew Watanuki had given it to him to take care of things here, but it still gave him a little thrill, as wasn’t a key supposed to be one of those steps? 

Doumeki shrugged off the thoughts, and turned the key in the lock, and entered Watanuki’s apartment. The AC was on the minimum power, since no one would be here for a week, so it was muggy in the apartment, and dim. Doumeki had never been here without Watanuki, and the whole place seemed quiet, and sparse without Watanuki’s presence. Maybe Akira was right that he needed some decoration. He slipped his shoes off, and went in heading towards the kitchen, putting the mail on the counter. 

The directions were specific, so he gathered up the watering can Watanuki kept under the kitchen sink, and filled it up to take care of the plants, following the instructions to the letter. He’d hate to kill Watanuki’s flowers in the week he was gone, and especially in this heat, the plants needed water. 

Other than that, there wasn’t much else to do there. Watanuki’s place wasn’t the loud student housing he lived in. Himawari lived on one side of Watanuki, and she and her roommates weren’t loud in the least, and on the other side, he had open air. His upstairs neighbors had a quiet little girl, but she didn’t make any trouble for Watanuki either. 

Doumeki wandered through the front room, straightening things up slightly. He could tell Watanuki had left in a rush, because things were out of place, and the kitchen wasn’t completely clean, so he did the last of the dishes, and tossed some produce, took out the trash and locked the door behind him. 

~~~~

Watanuki texted after dinner, while he was out with LaVon and Sam (they’d dragged him out with the promise of paying for his dessert). 

_Jet lag sucks_ was all it said. Doumeki smirked, and LaVon elbowed Sam. 

“Oh, look, an expression! It must be Watanuki, what’s he saying? Tell him we say hi.” 

“I didn’t say hi,” Sam said. LaVon elbowed Sam again. 

“Shut up, you guys,” Doumeki said, texting Watanuki back. 

_It’s only three hours time difference, how can you have jetlag? Also LaVon and Sam say hi_

_Don’t tell me I can’t have jetlag!_ came the immediate response. Then another, quickly buzzing afterwards. _And tell them hi for me._

“He says hi back,” Doumeki said, set the phone down. He usually thought it was rude to text someone else when you were with people. Still, he wanted to and looking up, he saw LaVon grinning knowingly. 

“Just respond man,” he said. “It’s cool.” 

“I don’t care at all, if that makes you feel better,” Sam said, bluntly like he did. Doumeki huffed, and replied as directed. 

_Sorry bout your three hour jetlag. So what’s going on? I told them._

_:P It’s 11:30 at night, and my whole family is asleep, and to me it’s 8:30. So I’m wide awake..._

_I’ll call you when I get home, if you want? Out to dinner, but we’re nearly done._

There was a long pause in between messages, and then Watanuki responded. _Okay. Not that it’s been **that** long since I saw you! It was this morning, you know!_

_I know. Talk to you soon_

_I know you know. I’m just saying._

Doumeki shook his head. Watanuki was so weird. 

_Okay. If you fall asleep, don’t answer_

_Duh_

Doumeki put the phone down, and glanced at his roommates, cheeks slightly warm as he noticed LaVon’s sly smile. He frowned, and LaVon shook his head. 

“Sorry man, but it’s just kinda adorable the way your face goes all squishy- ow!” 

Doumeki frowned hard, as he kicked at LaVon’s shin under the table. LaVon laughed, and rubbed his shin. 

“Okay, okay, sorry!” 

“Dude, who calls another dude’s face ‘squishy’?” Sam said, and LaVon laughed again. Doumeki shook his head at his crazy roommates, and began eating. 

“Or adorable,” Doumeki said, through a mouthful of his burger. 

LaVon had no answer, and the teasing continued through the rest of the meal. 

~~~~

Doumeki shut the front door behind him, as he dialed Watanuki’s number. It was a warm evening, even though the sun was down now, and he didn’t want his roommates heckling as he talked. The ringer blared in his ear as he wandered down to the parking lot, hand in the pocket of his shorts. It picked up, as he stepped over the curb of the property and out onto the sidewalk. 

“I thought you were almost done,” Watanuki answered, peevishly. Doumeki knew it was nearly an hour after they’d texted, but it took time to get their check and get home. 

“My roommates weren’t very cooperative,” Doumeki said. “Are you sleepy yet?” 

Watanuki breathed out gustily, and shifted. “No,” he whined. “It’s what? After nine there? I’d still be taking orders at the restaurant.” 

“True,” Doumeki said. Watanuki had always been somewhat of a night owl, and he was still wide awake late at night, when Doumeki was blinking away sleep. 

“Yeah. Tomorrow morning will be rough, I’m sure,” Watanuki huffed to himself. “At least it’s just breakfast with Dad.” 

“Will he let you sleep in?” Doumeki asked, and Watanuki sighed again. 

“No, probably not. Oh well. Coffee tomorrow, and it’ll be fine.” 

“Good plan,” Doumeki replied, as he shuffled along the sidewalk. A car drove by, and the city hummed around him, but he was sure it was so much less noisy than the city that Watanuki was in. 

“Are you outside? I just heard a car.” 

“Yeah, I’m walking. It’s nice out.” 

“Sounds so much quieter than here. If I opened the windows right now, everyone would be woken up by how noisy the streets are. I dunno if you can hear through the phone, but there’s muffled city noise all the time. Thank god for soundproofing!” 

“You grew up there, though, didn’t you?” 

“Mhm, till I was eight. I couldn’t sleep at first, in California. It was too quiet.” 

Doumeki remembered coming to the city, and moving into a noisy apartment building, with students coming and going at all hours, and the noise of cars right outside his window. He hadn’t been able to sleep back then, for the opposite reason. 

“Guess you like what you’re used to,” he said, glancing across the street, as a gaggle of students crowded around the back of a car, chatting, and laughing like crazy. It was summer, so there were even less people around in their little student district, south of campus, but there were still plenty left to make a racket. 

“Yeah, true. So, what were you doing with LaVon and Sam?” 

“Just dinner. We went to that burger place, over on 12th.” 

“Ooh! I like that place, we should go there when I get back. What did you get?” 

“Hawaiian burger. I like yours better.” 

Watanuki humphed. “I’m picturing swatting you through the phone, right now.” 

“What?” Doumeki smirked, trying to sound innocent. “Yours are good.” 

“I can’t always be around to make everything you eat. And I happen to have spoken to that chef, who does their burgers, and I’ve adapted _my_ recipe to be closer to theirs. It’s good. So there!”

“Still like yours.” 

“You’re so dumb.” 

There was a moment’s pause, as Doumeki enjoyed a smile, even though Watanuki couldn’t see him. 

“Stop it, I can hear you smiling. Which is weird, because you never smile.” 

Doumeki made his face flatten out. 

“I smile.” 

“Not when anyone can see. I don’t get it, do you just hate your teeth?” 

At this point, Doumeki would have reached out and shoved Watanuki to shut him up. Or kissed him, depending on their public-ness. He felt the distance between them. 

“I wish you were here,” he said, blunt like always. It would usually throw Watanuki off his current train of thought, and make him sputter adorably. He didn’t disappoint. 

“H-hey! You can’t just say things like that, you dumbass. We were talking about you smiling, remember, don’t change the subject.” 

“I’ll smile when I see you again, okay?” Doumeki promised, and Watanuki went a sort of fizzy quiet, buzzing with embarrassment. He was far too easy to rile up. 

“You’re still changing the subject,” he replied, after a moment. “I’ll hold you to that, you know. No covering your mouth with your hand, or anything. I want to see it.” 

Doumeki smiled right then, probably sappily, if the warm ball of mush in his chest was any indication. 

“Okay, it’s a deal.” 

“Fine. I’m going to take a picture, and put it in my wallet, and when people ask who that is, I’ll say that it’s my dumb boyfriend who’s only ever smiled once.” 

Doumeki felt his face get warm, and his lips turn upwards all the more, disproving Watanuki’s story. 

“You’re so ridiculous,” Doumeki said, and Watanuki huffed. 

“So are you,” Watanuki returned. 

Doumeki huffed, and walked on, strolling through the growing darkness. Watanuki and he talked for a long time, long enough for him to walk all the way to the restaurant, and loop around to reach his neighborhood again. Only then did Watanuki’s sentences start slowing, his words sounding mumbly. He breathed in, and let it out in what sounded like a yawn. 

“Oh,” he said, sounding surprised. “It’s two o’clock in the morning, you bast-” Watanuki yawned again, through his lazy insult. “You were supposed to help me fall asleep, not talk to me for two hours.” 

Doumeki huffed again, holding the phone up to his ear still. He supposed his hand was starting to ache from holding it up, but he didn’t mind. 

“I am helping you fall asleep,” he said, quiet and slow. 

“You take too long. You’re fired.” Watanuki yawned again. It made Doumeki cover his mouth against one too. “And now you’re yawning too? Geez…” 

“You good to fall asleep now?” Doumeki asked, and he could just picture Watanuki waving his hand around. 

“Yeah, yeah. I’ve gotta go upstairs, I guess. I’m on the couch. It’s comfortable though…” 

“You could sleep there.” 

“I’m not going to sleep here… probably.” Watanuki didn’t sound too sure of that. “I’m hanging up, good night.” 

“Go sleep in a bed,” Doumeki said, and Watanuki snorted, sounding like he was shifting to get comfortable, and not getting up. 

“Don’t tell me what to do,” he murmured, and Doumeki was sure that he already had his eyes closed and everything. 

“Okay. Good night, Watanuki.” 

“I already said night, Doum’ki…” he trailed off, and Doumeki got the feeling that if he didn’t hang up, the line would be open all night. He smiled, again, and pressed end to the call, walking up the steps to his apartment with a bounce in his step.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fell into a bit of an Attack on Titan hole - a new chapter went up, and man it's a doozy. But this is still going up, don't worry!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Watanuki has a day on the town with Tom, and Doumeki is brought up.

Watanuki was woken up _far_ too early, by the thundering sound that could only be small children, running down the stairs. His brothers, in fact, his sleeping brain remembered. His brothers, who were _morning people_. 

But why was he hearing them run _down_ the stairs? And why did his neck have such a horrible crick in it? 

“Kimmie! Kimmie! What are you doing down here?” Finn was yelling, and he and Mattie were suddenly standing above him. Watanuki blinked at them, realizing he was twisted on the couch cushions, clutching his probably dead phone, and glasses like lifelines, under a throw that definitely hadn’t been there when he fell asleep... mid phone call with Doumeki. Oops. 

Mattie’s face looked blurry and worried, so he woke up a little more, and shifted so he wasn’t looking at his brother’s upside down. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked, confusion filling him. “Mattie?” 

Finn launched himself forward, dragging his brother with him, and hugging him around the neck. Watanuki held his glasses in the air, as two kids suddenly landed on his chest. 

“Oof!” he said, and Mattie pulled back to look at him, with panicked eyes. 

“Did I snore? Or fart? Did I sleepwalk and punch you?? Finn said I sleepwalked once, but I think he was lying-” 

“I was not, he did!” Finn interjected. Watanuki began to understand what was happening. He’d agreed to let the two boys sleepover in his guest room the night before, but after lying there in bed for an hour, unable to sleep, he’d had Doumeki call him, leaving his brothers in the guest room alone. 

“Oh, Mattie, Mattie, I didn’t sleep down here because you were bothering me! I accidentally fell asleep on the couch, cause I was talking to my...friend on the phone. It’s okay!” 

Mattie let out a huge sigh of relief, and Finn cheered. Then, Miranda stepped into the living room, tying her hair back into a surprisingly neat bun for how haphazardly she was doing it. 

“Boys, leave your brother alone! He probably wants to sleep longer,” she said, and Mattie and Finn both straightened up, and nodded. Finn went so far as to pull his throw up for him. 

“Sorry Kimmie,” Mattie said, and Watanuki smiled at him. 

“We’ll have a sleepover tonight, okay. I promise.” 

“Me too!” Finn said, and it was almost a fight as Mattie turned to him with a frown, but Miranda stepped back into the room. 

“Guys, ten seconds and breakfast is gone.” 

They scampered off to the kitchen. Miranda gave him a half smile, and turned to leave. Watanuki sat up halfway, and spoke before she could go. 

“Thanks, for the blanket.” 

She looked back at him, shrugging one shoulder. 

“It wasn’t me, it was your father, after you fell asleep last night.” Watanuki blinked, and blushed to think that anyone might have heard him. 

“O-oh.” 

“You know, if you want to make phone calls at night, I’ll bet we can put the boys in their own room.” 

Watanuki really went red now. “No, no, no, it’s fine, just a one time thing, no worries! Besides, I promised Mattie and Finn we’d have a sleep over, it’s not a problem!” 

Miranda raised her eyebrow. “O-kay… well, see you around. Kids have to get off to school in 20, and then you have your dad to yourself. He’s up, but he’d probably let you nap a little, if you wanted.” 

“No, I’m good. I’m awake,” Watanuki stood, and then paused, for a large yawn. “On second thought, do you have coffee?” 

Miranda thumbed towards the kitchen, and he passed her with a grateful nod. 

MIranda and the boys left in a whirlwind, while Watanuki slumped over his coffee, staring into space. Then, his dad barged into the kitchen, with far too much energy for this time in the morning. 

“Hey, kid! You ready for our day? No wedding stuff, no kids, just you and me in NYC! Hey, that rhymed!” 

Watanuki winced, and waved his hand vaguely, squinting his eyes closed. 

“Dad, it’s…” He sluggishly did the math. “Oh god, it’s before six in the morning for me…” 

“Time zones,” Tom replied, nodding sagely. Watanuki only humphed, trying to wake up a little more. Then he felt a poke. His father was known for being impatient. 

“Let’s go eat breakfast,” Tom said, grinning at him from far too close. “There’s coffee out there. Better than the organic stuff Miranda buys.” 

Watanuki blinked at him, and Tom apparently decided he’d had enough of waiting. He dragged on his arm, pulling him out of his seat, and towards the front room. 

“Dad, Dad, stop, I’m in my pajamas, Dad!” Tom laughed at him. 

“Then go put on some pants; god my son is an idiot.” 

Watanuki waved his hand in response, and retreated up the stairs to his bedroom to change, and grab his bag. 

“We’re getting waffles, by the way!” his dad yelled up the stairs. Watanuki tiredly pulled on his shirt without taking his glasses off, and got a little tangled. 

“Duh!” he yelled back, as soon as he escaped. The pants were a little easier, and soon he was being pulled out the front door, his dad’s energy waking him up quicker than the coffee did. 

~

 

The waffle place was one of those corner shops that looked they’d been around since the fifties – and the décor hadn’t changed either.

“Oh, I haven’t been here in years!” Watanuki exclaimed, as they entered, and the old familiar smells of waffle batter and fruit wafted over them. His dad grinned as they took seats at the bar, and Watanuki ran his fingers lightly over the laminated counter.

“I took Mattie and Finn here last month,” he bragged, and Watanuki rolled his eyes, twisting his spinney stool towards his dad.

“Yeah, well you live here. Last time I ate here, I was eighteen.” It was during the summer he spent here, after graduating High School. It was his last visit, and he hadn’t realized how much he missed his dad and New York in general.

Tom scoffed, flipping open the menu the friendly server slid towards them.

“Please, you’re only twelve.”

“I’m twenty-two, Dad.”

“There’s no way I have a twenty-two year old son. I’m only thirty-five. That just doesn’t work, Kimmie!”

Watanuki shook his head, as his dad’s antics escalated.

“Sure.”

They ordered: blueberry waffles for Tom, and Watanuki picked a cinnamon apple waffle stuffed with cream. Might as well go wild, as he wouldn’t be back to this place in the foreseeable future.

Tom licked his fork, and dove in, and they ate for a while, before Tom glanced sideways at him.

“So, you were up late.” His voice only barely veiled his interest. Watanuki tried not to blush again.

“Jet lag.” His voice was firm, and unyielding. Tom wasn’t falling for it.

“Who were you talking to? For two hours! I’m so glad you have such good friends!” Tom was just ridiculous. He had his hands clasped, eyes shining.

“Oh my god, Dad. Yeah, I called someone, cause I was awake. And bored. That’s all.” Watanuki nodded, and then hesitated, wincing. After all, not telling his mom got him into that mess two nights ago.

“That’s all?” Tom said.

“Yes, that’s all, eat your damn waffle,” Watanuki growled, mostly at himself, taking a huge bite out of his own food.

“I’ll eat my damn waffle at my own pace, Kimmie.”

“Don’t remind me why I never visit,” Watanuki said, which wasn’t true at all. But, this was how he and his dad were. Maybe that’s why it was so hard to start up an actual conversation, about possibly dating a person back in California. Possibly even liking him too. Watanuki shoveled another bite into his mouth; fortunately, the waffle was really good.

“Well, that’s just rude. From the mouth of my own son. Kimihiro, why?”

Watanuki rolled his eyes. Tom laughed at him, eating his own waffle, blueberry syrup dripping off his bite. Watanuki was glad he’d gotten his table manners from his mom, his dad was reminding him more of Doumeki than anyone, at least in politeness or the lack thereof.

Which was another reminder of what he should probably tell Tom, before this day went on too long. He didn’t get a chance to, though, because his dad obviously had something on his mind.

“You know,” and now his dad was looking contemplative. He cut him a glance, quirking an eyebrow. “I remember you saying you were thinking about moving a while back…”

Watanuki raised his eyebrows. It was true; he had been, months ago. Unsure what he was doing, or even if he was still saving for school, or just wanting to work, he’d considered moving back to New York. With working for Yuuko for four years, he figured had enough experience to at least get hired in the nicer restaurants, and NYC had those aplenty. He could work up to chef again, he was sure of it, even if he started over as a prep cook. Aside from being close to his mom, and the friends he’d made, like Himawari, nothing had really seemed like it was holding him anyway. Why not New York, he’d thought.

Now…

“Yeah, I remember,” Watanuki said, something slinking into his stomach area, making him put his fork down.

Tom smiled at him. “Well, I always like to check in with the chefs around the area, and it turns out that a couple of them are hiring, and sounded interested when I told them about you, and what you’ve been doing at the restaurant.”

“Ahh,” Watanuki breathed out. He turned his face towards the kitchens in front of them, watching the servers go in and out of the swinging door, so like theirs. The possibility should have been exciting. A new job, new city, change of pace. He loved New York, and there was so much to offer, so much to do.

But something about it seemed so… unappealing. And, as if called up by the thought, his phone pinged. He glanced at it in his pocket, and saw that it was Doumeki. He’d texted a simple ‘good morning’. No punctuation. And that sinking feeling in his chest lightened. God, what was wrong with him?

“Kid, you in there?” Tom asked, and Watanuki blinked at him.

“Yeah, sorry. Just thinking…”

“Thinking about moving?” Tom asked, chirpily. Watanuki huffed, and half shook his head, half shrugged.

“I don’t really think I’m thinking about that anymore.”

“You don’t think the restaurants would hire you? Son, you work in a four star restaurant! That’s impressive! They’d definitely hire you, on the spot!”

Watanuki blushed, both at the praise and at his own confused feelings.

“It’s not that. Well, it’s sort of that. I do want to keep working at Yuuko’s, see where it goes. She gave me my first chance, after all. I don’t want to abandon her.”

Tom was looking at him, and so Watanuki turned his nose away, his face growing hot.

“And there, there might be another reason to stay in California too…”

“Another reason…?” Tom gasped, and looked at him. “You don’t mean-“

Watanuki frowned, and folded his arms. “Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably not that.”

“Do you have a special person out there, is that it?”

“Ew, that sounds super weird, dad.”

“Is that who you were talking to last night? Who is she? Or well, given your track record-“

“Ugh, dad!”

“You know, I didn’t get to intimidate your last boyfriend. It always felt like a rite of passage for a father. And now your new one is miles awaayy, I’m never going to get a chance…”

“Hey, don’t assume! Mattie or Finn could bring home a boyfriend,” Watanuki interjected.

“They’re both under eight, Kimmie, I don’t think they’re dating anyone.”

“You don’t know, _Dad_!”

“You don’t have to get defensive,” Tom said, and Watanuki huffed out.

“I’m not getting defensive.”

“You are.”

“Are not!”

“Oh please, the last time you were this defensive, your mother was telling me you set the kitchen on fire.”

Watanuki was nearly out of his seat.

“That was only twice, and the second time wasn’t even-“

“Don’t change the subject, kid, you were telling me about your special someone!”

“Argh!” Watanuki rubbed his face hard, slumping back on the stool, straightening it out from its near tipping. “Okay, fine. Yes, I’m dating someone, a boy, and any more than that is none of your business!”

Tom laughed, and clapped.

“Kimmie! That’s so exciting! How long has this been going on? Does your mother know, tell me you told me first! What’s his name?”

Watanuki rolled his eyes, and answered his dad’s questions.

“Four months. Yes, she knows.” He didn’t mention that it was only two nights ago; he was terrible. “And his name is Shizuka Doumeki.”

Tom swatted at his elbow. “So long! How many times have we talked on the phone since then?” Tom pouted. “Was that him on the phone last night? You talked for a long time.”

Watanuki felt his shoulders creep up to his ears, a blush heating his face.

“Well…”

“You must like this guy,” Tom laughed, and Watanuki went hot.

“No!” he protested, untruthfully, he knew. Tom blinked and laughed at him.

“I thought you were dating him?”

“I am, but- ugh, he’s terrible! _You’re_ terrible!”

“Kimmie, Kimmie, you’re not making any sense. Do you like this boy or not? If he’s terrible, I really will have to intimidate him.”

Watanuki shook his hand, and waved a negative with both hands.

“Gah, no, you don’t- you don’t have to do that, Dad-“

“Well, just tell me then.”

Watanuki let out a breath, and slumped his forehead over his food.

“Arghh! Okay, I do like him, I think. I’m dating him, _still_ , and I make food, and we do things, and hang out a lot, and the other day he held my hand through a whole movie, and I didn’t pull away or anything. And we talk a lot, and argue and he frustrates me and makes me mad, and sometimes I just want to yell about it, but he’s also nice. I want to do things for him, and … I don’t know Dad. It’s really weird.” Watanuki shoved a huge bite of his chilling waffle into his mouth, and chewed, staring at the counter.

Tom was quiet for a moment, uncharacteristically, and Watanuki glanced at his face, to see him giving him a fond look of understanding.

“Sounds like you have a lot of feelings going on, Kimmie.”

Watanuki swallowed, and took another bite so he wouldn’t have to respond. He didn’t know. He supposed that was one way to describe it, though if he was asked to define most of those feelings, he’d be at a loss.

“You know, Miranda spilled coffee on me. When I first met her, I was wearing a new shirt, and on the way to an interview for a promotion, and she came out of nowhere, ran into me, and spilled my coffee all over me. And then, she didn’t even apologize.”

“Well, that’s rude,” Watanuki commented, unsure where this was going.

“Yeah. Said, I was the one in a rush, and she was just standing there. Which, she was, I’ll admit now. But I was so mad at her, I decided that from that moment forward, I would hate her.”

“Because you didn’t get the promotion?”

“Oh no, I got the promotion. You’ll find that we have a family trait for pettiness, son.”

Watanuki winced. “Yeah…”

“Anyway, so she works in my building, so I saw her in the lobby a lot. I glared at her every time I saw her, and she just raised an eyebrow at me. It was so annoying. Finally, one day, she cornered me and asked what my problem was. I told her she was my problem. Then she said she was sick of getting glared at, and asked me out.”

“What? Why?”

“She wanted to show me she wasn’t that bad, and start over. She said she thought I was cute when I wasn’t frowning and that she appreciated my passion, even if it was directed the wrong way. Also said I was stupid and childish.”

“Rude.” Probably true.

“Very. Anyways, we went out, and we had a good time. She did things that made me mad and annoyed me, but once we got talking, I saw that we actually worked well together. But I was still mad at her, so I asked her out again, trying to see if I was going to settle on hating her, or liking her.”

Watanuki could see where this was going, but he still asked. “What’s the point of this story?”

“Do you hate this guy, or like him, Kimmie?”

Watanuki pondered, and then decided it was too big a question for a waffle breakfast. He sighed, and pushed away the embarrassment and stress of that conversation.

“Both,” he said, taking a gulp of his drink, a glass of chocolate milk because reasons. “Now, can we talk about something else?”

Tom laughed, and nodded, and then he happily ate the last of his waffle, and waved at Watanuki to do the same.

“Well, you can tell me all about him today, when you’ve stopped blushing, but for now we’ve got places to go, people to see, things to do! C’mon, son, hurry up!”

Watanuki frowned at Tom, not picking up his fork again.

“What do you mean, people to see? What’s going on?”

Tom only grinned at him.

~

The father/son day, had been – true to form for Tom, honestly – completely packed. By the time they came home, late at night on that Thursday, Watanuki was exhausted, and footsore, (Tom was dragging too, so that was something at least) and also still agitated from the random ambushes of embarrassing questions.

Tom had asked him all sorts of things about Doumeki, and their relationship and how they met and what they did, etc. etc. etc. Watanuki was reminded why he’d probably put off telling his father in the first place.

Still, he’d had a good time, and by the end of the day, they were mostly just enjoying each other’s company. There had been street food, the people to see were in a Broadway show (his dad had some random connections with the director, and they went to a _very_ fancy restaurant afterwards with some of the cast), Central Park, and tons of other things that he’d loved to do as a child. It all felt very nostalgic, and if it weren’t for the conversation with his dad at the beginning, Watanuki could have gotten lost in the memories. As it were, this time he felt like sharing what he could with Doumeki, and so he took photos and texted them to Doumeki, showing him what he was doing. Doumeki texted back more than a couple words to some of them, and it made his chest warm again, in that weird way.

Of course, the moment would be ruined, when Tom tried to snatch his phone, but it was a good day all the same.

They’d gotten back pretty late, so Watanuki was quiet as he tiptoed into the guest bedroom, to find both his brothers laid out on the bed he was supposed to be sleeping on, conked out completely. He huffed, smiling in the dim light from the hall, and turned to go brush his teeth. Miranda was coming up the stairs, and she met his eyes, humor twinkling in them.

“They take over your bed?” she asked, and he nodded, laughing softly. “They wanted to wait up for you.”

Watanuki nodded, feeling a little guilty, because he’d told them he’d sleep over with them tonight.

“The show went late. S’ good, though.”

Miranda nodded. “I know Tom was glad that he could set aside that day for you. It’s gonna be busy after this.”

Watanuki nodded, knowing that. He paused, awkwardly. He hadn’t had many one on one conversations with Miranda, and well… he hadn’t been the best to her as a teenager. But he thought he should probably resolve that – she’d be his real stepmother now, and also… well, she wasn’t so bad. Headstrong, and intimidating, but nice, generally. He’d fallen into the same trap that his dad had, deciding to dislike her, before getting to know her, just because she was dating his Dad. Pretty cliché.

“Did I ever say, congratulations? I mean-“

Miranda half smiled at him. “Maybe once. You’re not upset?”

Watanuki huffed. “I think I’m old enough to not be upset, Miranda… I’m… glad, that you met Dad. And asked him out after spilling coffee on him.”

Miranda barked a laugh. “He told you that story? Oh god,” she said.

“It wasn’t so bad,” Watanuki reassured her. Then he bit his lip, and glanced back at the boys. Sound asleep. “He told me, because… I guess I’m dating someone kinda like you. So, he… I’m glad to… know it can work out.”

Miranda looked surprised, and pleased, but Watanuki had to duck to hide his burning face. If only he could stop having to admit things that made him blush so much.

“Oh,” Miranda said. “Well, okay. Glad to help then.”

Watanuki was completely done with being embarrassed today, and waved his hand and nodding, and flushing more, before turning towards the bedroom.

“Yeah, good night, I’m going to bed.”

“Night, Kim,” Miranda said, and Watanuki could tell she was still grinning. Ugh. Why was everyone the worst?

He changed in the dark, and took off his glasses, before crawling into his occupied bed. His brothers stirred, and sleepily blinked at him, as he laid down between them.

“Kimmie?” Mattie’s voice was soft in the dark, and Finn only mumbled a greeting.

“Hey. We’re having a sleep over, remember?” Watanuki whispered. Mattie nodded, and curled into his shoulder. Finn did the same on the other side, cuddling close. They fell limp again, sleeping soundly. Watanuki extricated his arm from under Mattie, and pulled his phone to hover in front of his eyes.

There were a couple of texts from Doumeki, and one from his mom. He answered that one quickly, telling her about the show, and wishing her luck at her conference tomorrow, and then read Doumeki’s messages, though they were simply responses to a picture of the crowd outside the theatre, and the title board.

_Hope you like the show_

_Looks good_

Watanuki hitched up the corner of his mouth, and replied.

_Out of the show. It was good, really funny. We should find a recording of it when I get home. Do you even like musicals? We don’t have to if you don’t like them- no, actually, we do. I like it, and you’ll like it_

It took a moment for Doumeki to text back, and Watanuki tried to remember if he was at work. It was… nine there? Ish. He’d still be on, if he had a shift today, but if he didn’t, he’d look at his phone.

Then, his phone pinged, barely noisy enough to notice. Still, Watanuki turned down his volume, so let his brothers keep snoring.

_Hah, fine._ Doumeki gave in, and Watanuki felt satisfied, even though the argument had been only on his side.

_Good._ Watanuki paused, before sending it, remembering all the conversations he’d had today. _I told my dad about you today…_

There was another long pause, and Watanuki felt a shiver of nerves, thinking of Doumeki’s reaction, his face when he told him that his mother was inside the apartment two days ago. This wasn’t nearly that scary, he knew… but he still felt bad about that.

_What’d he say?_ Doumeki asked, and Watanuki could feel his hesitation, other words he wasn’t saying. Not that Watanuki knew what those words were.

_He’s fine. He knew already that I was…_ what? Gay? Into guys? Argh… _not straight, or whatever. And he’s just happy if I’m happy_

_Are you?_ the text came quickly, like Doumeki sent it without thinking. Watanuki felt too warm again, especially underneath his brother’s sleeping forms. He stared at the small glowing square, unsure what to say. He’d told his mother he was happy, mentioned to his dad that he didn’t want to give up on this… how hard was it to tell the actual person involved that? He bit his lip, and lifted his thumbs to type, when another text came in.

_Sorry, weird text conversation… i’ll talk to you later_

_no, no, it’s fine. I’d call, but my brothers are sleeping. On top of me._ Watanuki sent the text quickly, not wanting Doumeki to stop texting, to think that he was offended or something. He wasn’t, but it had been such a weird day, emotionally. He was super tired of blushing, yet up that heat rose again.

_Oh, hah, bet that’s comfy_

Doumeki was willing to change the subject, but Watanuki didn’t want to drop it quite yet.

_Super comfy. They’re little heaters._ he sent, and then tapped out something else. _and Doumeki? I am… happy I mean._

He hit send, and pressed his phone against his forehead, wanting to squirm as he pictured Doumeki reading that. Argh, this was all so _weird!_ His phone buzzed against his face, and he looked to see Doumeki’s response.

_Me too_

Watanuki smiled, in the dark, and put his phone on the charger, and then curled up with his brothers on either side. Sleep came quickly tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to those of you who are sticking through this! 
> 
> The play they saw was Hamilton, because I want to see it, which means that Watanuki got to eat dinner with Lin-Manuel Miranda and I'm _really_ jealous. See the opening song here.
> 
> I have never been to New York City... 
> 
> The conversation at the waffle place with Tom first came about in Rémy's and my original notes, and one particular line that I made sure to keep is "You don't know, _Dad_ ," because it became a quote around my house, which was hilarious :) Credit to Rémy for that!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doumeki visits his extended family.

Doumeki spent the days Watanuki was gone busy; working, taking care of those potted plants at Watanuki’s place, hanging out with his roommates, catching up on a couple books, or video games, and figuring out what he wanted to eat that weren’t from the freezer. He really was a little hopeless in the kitchen, but Watanuki had left some things.

On Friday night, his lack of cooking skills was overshadowed by an invitation home for the evening, for a family dinner. It was summer, so the others his age were home, and his mother was a great cook too – if not quite as polished or experimental as Watanuki.

Doumeki drove home, to the little cul de sac where his mother, father and aunts and uncles live. Outside the house, Doumeki saw Noah’s car, and the truck that Kaya and Kana shared while they were away at school (in a complicated and strict schedule system that kept fights to a minimum, as far as Doumeki understood)

Everyone was gathered in his Uncle Howard’s house, next door to his mother’s, so Doumeki parks in his usual spot, and walks across the lawn, carrying his food assignment – cut up tomatoes. His mother knows his limits.

He smelled the barbecue from the front yard, and so slipped through the gate, and into the backyard first. As he’d suspected, his grandfather Haruka was standing in front of the grill, flipping burgers for the family.

“Heyo! How’s my favorite grandson!” Haruka said, as he came up. Doumeki huffed.

“I’m your only grandson, technically.” Though he was pretty much a grandfather to the rest of his cousins too.

“Phhst,” Haruka said, waving his spatula. “How’s everything? How’s that Kimihiro-kun?”

His grandfather had been so pleased that Watanuki was more than fluent in Japanese, and familiar with the culture, and taken to calling him with that honorific, which pleased and embarrassed Watanuki. Doumeki sometimes thought the fact that his family wasn’t very traditional was a bit of a disappointment to Haruka, who’d been a son of a Shinto priest in Japan, while he grew up.

“Fine,” Doumeki replied. “He’s in New York.”

“New York!” Haruka exclaimed. “Good old NYC, what’s he doing out there?”

“His dad lives out there,” Doumeki said, not wanting to go into the details of Watanuki’s father’s second wedding, and all that.

“Ah, that’s good. You couldn’t go with him? Meet the family, and all that.”

Doumeki shook his head, flushing a little.

“He didn’t ask, but it was pretty short notice. I’ve met his mother though, the other day.”

“Wonderful,” Haruka smiled at him, and Doumeki smiled back, enjoying his grandfather’s interest. “How was she?”

“Nice. She has a lot of traditional stuff, said she’d send some books and notes for me to look at.”

“Well, that’s nice of her!”

Just then, the sliding glass door opened, and his father Hayato appeared, with a plate. Haruka checked on the burgers, pretending like he’s been cooking the whole time, exchanging guilty looks with Doumeki.

Hayato stopped on the porch, blinking at Doumeki, before smiling mildly.

“Hi, Shizuka,” he said, “I didn’t see you come in.”

“I went around the back,” Doumeki said, gripping the bag with the container of tomatoes.

“Smelled the meat, eh?” Haruka said, and Doumeki smirked, knowing that Haruka loved that Doumeki usually sought him out first.

“That’s it. I’ll bring these inside.”

Hayato nodded at him, and held the plate out to Haruka. “They’re ready for the first wave in there, I think.”

Doumeki nodded, and passed his father, moving inwards. His mom was in the kitchen, along with a few of his aunts and uncles, chatting and laughing. He sets the tomatoes down, before Keiko looks up, and smiles to see him.

“Shizuka!” she said, coming forward for a hug. He hugged her back, and smiled at her.

“Hi Mom,” he replied.

The noise in the kitchen abruptly got louder, as a knot of people entered, poking their heads around the corner.

“Hey, is dinner ready y- hey! Zuka!” Noah changed tack in the middle of his sentence, and lunged forward to grab Doumeki around the shoulders, roughly head locking him. “You’re here!”

Kaya and Kana were both in the huddle too, and came forward to hug him. Doumeki hugged everyone back – he hadn’t seen them all since Christmas last year. Some of the younger cousins, Noah and the twin’s siblings who had always been babies and now were in high school, gathered around him too. Everyone was talking, and saying hi.

“Everybody to the den!” Doumeki’s mother yelled over the hubbub. The younger generation followed the directions, but Doumeki was dragged along with them, vaguely taking part in the conversations about summer, and school work, and life since they’d seen each other.

“I can’t believe you did all that,” Kana said to Noah, apparently continuing a conversation they’d been having before they entered the kitchen.

Noah guffawed, and puffed out his chest.

“You’re just jealous you weren’t there to see the glory, Kana!” he crowed, and the girls both rolled their eyes.

“Yeah right,” Kaya said, and elbowed Noah hard enough to make him squeak.

“Yeah? Well, what have _you_ guys been up to?” Noah asked the group, and the twins were quick to answer.

“We’ve been having the _best_ time, thank you very much! The party scene around our school is so much more mature than around here.” Kana sniffed as she talked.

“And so are the guys, unlike you!” Kaya continued after her.

Noah chortled, and nudged Doumeki in the side. He’d always been jabby. 

“You couldn’t get two guys more mature than us!” He crowed, and threw his arm around Doumeki’s neck. Doumeki eyed him sideways, amused. 

“That’s only because I’m here,” he muttered, and Noah hooted. 

“Baha! Guys, did you hear, Zuka made a joke!” 

The girls laughed, and Doumeki sighed, leaning away from Noah’s weight. Noah followed him, poking his side. 

“Good one, Zuka!” he was still snickering, as Kana rolled her eyes. 

Noah and the others didn’t seem to have calmed down since they went to school, still talking about their parties and adventures outside of class. If any of them had asked Doumeki about his classes, he would have had answers for them, but as it was, the topics danced around dating, and antics, and Doumeki didn’t really want to discuss much of that with them.

The younger kids had gotten out an Xbox, and started a game of Halo. The girls continued chatting over the sound of the guns, and Noah was roped into playing with his younger brother Samuel, and their other cousin Suki. Doumeki decided to get up and go check out the kitchen, one because he was hungry and dinner had to be starting soon, and two he hadn’t gotten to say a proper hello to his mother. 

He left quietly, and the noise of the game soon was muffled by the walls between the kitchen and the main part of the house, and the den: the real reason all the kids were sent there during family get togethers. 

Doumeki wandered into the kitchen through the dining room, entering in the smaller side door, rather than the main door. There was a counter spread with hamburger toppings, as well as potato salad, regular salad and chips. Doumeki grabbed a potato chip, and munched on it, while he came further in. 

Then, he heard something that made him freeze where he stood. 

Just further into the kitchen, slightly around the corner, he could hear his Aunt talking. 

“- not that I have anything against gays, but I just… worry about him, you know?” 

Doumeki’s heart was suddenly hammering, and he attempted to swallow the chip completely. Did someone- had someone told people about him? He looked around the edge of the wall, and he saw his Aunt Hana, talking to his mother. His heart squeezed tight, not wanting to believe it, that his mom or someone would tell- then his aunt continued. 

“He’s our only boy, I just worry he’ll be alone, if he doesn’t marry. He’ll never have children…” 

Doumeki let out a breath, slumping back against the wall. It wasn’t him, Aunt Hana wasn’t talking about him. She was talking about her son, Sasuke. Sasuke, who’d come out three years ago, not that it was a surprise to Doumeki. Sasuke, who didn’t come home often, because he lived with his boyfriend in LA. His mother hadn’t betrayed him. His secret was still safe. 

Keiko had her hand on her heart, listening to her sister with a empathetic face on, and Doumeki suddenly was sick for another reason. What if these worries he was hearing from Hana were the same fears in his mother’s heart? What if she’d only pretended to take his news so well, and was really actually upset, or at least was just holding out hope that he’d get through this phase, and then marry some girl and settle down. 

Doumeki, for his mother’s sake, let that thought sit on his chest for all of a minute, before he pushed it away. No. No, he wouldn’t do that. Trying to imagine a life without Watanuki - or even Watanuki aside, imagine a life where he had to kiss or live with some random woman… 

Doumeki sighed. It was all so confusing. For now, he contented himself with knowing that he wanted to stay with Watanuki, and that he couldn’t see that feeling going away. He liked him, wanted to spend time with him, and didn’t want to picture his life without him. Even these past few days had been so empty. 

Then, Keiko’s mother put her hand on Hana’s, and Doumeki listened. 

“Hana, I understand your fears. It’s normal for a mother to want for her child what made her happy. You’ve been happy with Howard, right?” 

A little teary, Hana nodded. Keiko continued. 

“Sasuke is his own person, and what makes you happy, will not make him happy. It doesn’t mean, that when he decides things you don’t understand, that he isn’t just as happy as you wish him to be.” 

Hana sniffed. “You really think he can be, the way he’s living.” 

Keiko opened her mouth to answer, and then noticed Doumeki watching from the edge of the wall. Her face firmed, and she sent him a fleeting smile. Doumeki knew she was talking to him too. 

“If he listens to his heart, I truly believe he can find love as strong as anyone’s. And that’s enough to make a person happy, I’d say.” 

Doumeki felt his throat tighten, and he lifted the sides of his mouth at his mom, while Hana took a breath, and wiped one eye. 

“Thank you, Keiko,” she said, and pulled Doumeki’s mom into a hug. 

Hana pulled away, and gave a watery laugh, only then noticing Doumeki standing there. He hoped he didn’t look too panicked. 

“Oh, Shizuka, how’s school?” she asked, and Doumeki shook himself, swallowing again. 

“Out… right now. Uh, it’s good. Interesting.” Doumeki floundered for what to say. Hana came closer, and patted his shoulder, before moving towards the oven to remove the cooked hamburgers that had been warming. 

“Wonderful. Well, shall we get started? I think people are ready to eat.” 

Doumeki wasn’t really that hungry anymore in the aftermath of the rush of panic, but with what his mother had said, he knew he’d be fine in a minute, so he nodded. 

“Great!” Hana moved away, towards the table where the plates were spread, to knock on the screen door. “Dinner! Let’s get started!” 

There was a general cheer from outside the door, from his grandpa and uncles, and people started moving. Doumeki took a breath, and scooted closer to his mother. She was smiling and took his hand, making him relax fully from the stress of overhearing that conversation. 

“Did you mean that?” he asked, and she huffed, and squeezed his hand. 

“Of course I did,” Keiko said, her glasses flashing in the afternoon sun, as she gave him a sharp look. “Of course, I didn’t raise my son to eavesdrop.” 

“Sorry,” he said, tightening his grip. “I started listening, and -” 

Keiko’s other hand rested on his arm, and she lowered her voice. 

“I trust you to find who will make you happy, beit this someone or the next. You’ve always known better than anyone what you need.” 

_I need him_ floated through Doumeki’s mind, but he didn’t say it out loud, mindful of the people that had started gathering in the kitchen. Instead, he leaned down, and kissed Keiko’s cheek. 

“Thanks, mom,” he said, and she smiled and gave him a little push. 

“Now go get some food. You know how it disappears around here, especially when your grandfather is grilling.” 

It was quite true, so Doumeki got into the line that was stringing along the kitchen counters, buffet style, with a light feeling in his stomach. 

~

 

After dinner - a chaotic affair, where everyone fought over the food, and who drank the last of the root beer - Doumeki followed his cousins back into the den. His stomach was pleasantly full, and he had a moment of thought that maybe one day, he could bring Watanuki to something like this – then quickly realized that that would mean he’d have to tell everyone about him. Sasuke had already let his own circumstances out, and he hadn’t heard anyone talk bad about him. But, somehow, it was too big for him to consider right then. It was enough that his parents knew, and his grandfather. Right then, that was all he needed. 

“Hey, everyone, let’s play a game!” Noah exclaimed, as everyone under 25 settled back into the den. 

“Aww, no Noah…” some of the younger ones groaned, lowering the controllers for the Xbox they’d just picked up. But, Noah was persuasive, and soon everyone was sitting in a circle, while Noah grinned at them all. 

“Spit it out, Noe, what are we playing?” Kana said, sounding bored. They’d played all his games before. Noah smirked wider, and looked at the younger kids, finally deemed old enough to play with them again, like back when they were little kids. 

“Never Have I Ever, anyone?” 

A collective groan, but the game started. Noah was first in the middle, and Doumeki sat between Noah’s empty space, and Kaya. They didn’t have drinks, obviously, so the younger cousins fetched 7Up from the kitchen, the only soda left over from dinner, and they all got a glass to sip the bland drink whenever they’d done what the middle person said. The only rule was that the person in the middle saying ‘never have I ever…” had to actually have never done the thing. The person in the middle switched whenever he or she got people to drink, which was basically every round. 

Noah sat on the floor, smiling at all of them, lazily. 

“Never have I ever… stayed in on a Friday night,” he said, and he smiled at some of them in particular. Doumeki sighed and sipped the soda, along with most everyone. Doumeki didn’t know if Noah’s statement was _quite_ true, but judging by their high school years, it was close enough. 

Noah pointed at Doumeki. “Your turn, big boy!” he said, and Doumeki rolled his eyes, and got up to sit in the middle. He eyed his cousins, knowing most of them had done everything he had, as far as vacations or adventures go. They were all related, after all. Doumeki breathed in, and thought for a moment. 

“Never have I ever… painted my nails,” he finished, knowing he’d at least get the girls on that. 

“Unfair, using gender norms against us!” Kaya grumbled, taking a sip, along with Kana, Suki, and their other younger girl cousins. And Samuel, surprisingly. 

Noah chortled, and Sam blushed. “I have younger sisters, okay!” he said, and the crowd laughed, before the game went on. 

Doumeki sipped for things like, gone to Disneyland, and left the country. He barely even traveled out of the state (Unbidden, Doumeki remembered just how far away New York was, and he had an urge to check his phone.) He sipped on tasted haggis, and flown in an airplane. He’d been singled out for that one on purpose, because he was one of the only ones who’d really never been far. 

Then, Samuel got his revenge. Being the youngest one there, at 14 and shy as Doumeki was at school (according to his mother) he smiled wickedly and said something he knew would get most, if not all of the older cousins to drink. 

“I’ve never kissed anyone romantically,” he said, and sat back to watch as Noah, Kaya and Kana all sighed dramatically. 

“You would pull that one out, little brother! Your day will come, I promise you!” Noah said, before dramatically draining his cup. Kaya and Kana drank, and so did some of the high school age cousins and then Doumeki’s heart began thudding, because… he had kissed someone too. He was greatly missing kissing someone romantically right now. 

Hoping no one would notice, Doumeki took a quick sip, his face burning. 

Of course, a shocked silence told him he’d been caught. 

“What?” Kaya said, surprise breaking up her laughter. “Seriously, Zuke?” 

“Wait, wait, wait!” Noah was grinning, and leaned over to grab Doumeki around the shoulders. “You- you’ve kissed someone? You know he said romantically, right?” 

Doumeki tried to shrug him off, ears burning. 

“Shut up,” he mumbled, but Noah wasn’t done. Kana and Kaya were laughing delightedly as well. 

“Well, who was it? Who? Who? Who?” Noah chanted, shaking him with each chant. 

Doumeki hated when things turned like this. At his family’s, he was comfortable staying out of the spotlight. No one paid attention to him here, and no one asked him uncomfortable questions, either. Doumeki stayed quiet, and almost no one noticed him in the corner. But, when Noah talked, people listened, and when Noah put that attention on him… well, it made Doumeki wish he was anywhere else.

“Nobody,” he said, knowing very well that there very much was somebody. He’d worked hard to make sure of that. No one here knew about Watanuki, aside from his parents and grandpa, and Doumeki didn’t know if he could pinpoint his family’s opinions on the matter. It was easier to keep quiet. It always was.

Noah glomped him, squeezing his shoulders. “C’mon, you can’t just _drink_ after a question like that, and not give us any details! Back me up, everyone.” A chorus of agreement, and Doumeki was beginning to feel cornered. He didn’t want to tell them, but he didn’t want to lie either. His heart beat faster. Noah was persistently holding on to Doumeki’s shoulders, almost putting him in a headlock. Doumeki tried to shrug him off, but Noah wouldn’t budge, even with his severest frown. “C’mon girls, help me.”

Doumeki wasn’t that ticklish, but his neck still prickled with alarm, as Kana and Kaya grinned wickedly, and came over to kneel on either side of him, wiggling their fingers at his sides. Noah had him pretty well pinned. Doumeki was big, but Noah was bigger, and a continuous athlete, where Doumeki had gotten lax aside from running.

“Tell us!”

“Who did you kiss?”

Doumeki slapped away the girls’ hands, but it didn’t make a difference. Everyone was laughing. Doumeki swallowed, with a bit of difficulty, because of where Noah’s arms were. 

“Go away, Noah.”

“C’mon guys, let’s get it out of him!” Noah said in response. Noah was just getting carried away, he did that, but god he needed to let go of his neck. 

The pile intensified, and Doumeki’s annoyance and discomfort magnified into true dislike and anger. There were hands all over him, and Noah had never stopped squeezing his neck in a half head lock, and now he was being moved towards the ground, to pin completely down.

“Tell us, tell us! Who’s the girl? Who’s your girlfriend?”

“O-oi, get off! Get off, get off me!” he yelled, his voice sharp with something like panic and something like anger. It startled the others, and they backed off. Doumeki pulled himself fully upright, his face feeling stormy, and his shirt askew. He straightened it with a yank, and stood, while Noah and the others gaped at him. He’d never shouted at them, not since they were kids anyway. But, the whole… interrogation had been too close to the truth, and not far enough, and Doumeki had had enough.

He stalked to the edge of the den, and then spoke to the ground, his head bowed. He could see from the corner of his eyes Noah, and the twins still crouched on the ground, looking guilty, and then the younger cousins staring from the remains of their circle. Doumeki was one of the oldest here. He wasn’t supposed to fight, and get angry. But he was.

“If you _have_ to know,” Doumeki said, his voice low and cold. “I am dating someone. And not that it’s any of your business, but he’s not a girl.”

With that, he turned fully to the door, and left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And a plot begins to form.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Watanuki meets his long lost cousin, and hears from Doumeki.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Going out of town, so an update before I leave!

It was a bit later than Watanuki expected on Friday night, when his dad got home with his brother and family in tow. The food was ready, and staying warm in the oven, and the sky was getting dark as he heard his Dad’s car drive up and park in front of the house. Watanuki opened the door, getting a waft of the New York air: hot but cooling, and stood on the step in his socks, wondering if they needed any help bringing anything in. 

Watanuki could see his uncle Shui (he’d always gone by his Chinese name, unlike his dad), a tall thin man with his dad’s brown hair and a pair of glasses, pulling out a single brown suitcase. He was okay then. His dad was helping his Aunt Yelan, also tall and incredibly stylish, out of the car, before before bending in to gather the three dry cleaning bags, and no less than four suitcases, and stacking them at the curb. Watanuki started forward to help bring those in, and greet people. Then, he noticed his cousin, Syaoran, getting out of the other side of the car. Brown haired, like he’d been when they were young, but other than that, Watanuki’s memories of a bristling, red faced boy didn’t match up with the tall (taller than him, dammit) and subdued young man who as straightening up with a suitcase that matched his father’s. 

“Hello!” Watanuki said, coming down the steps, and grabbing a couple of the bags. 

Syaoran waved, and his aunt and uncle smiled as he spoke. “Hi, Kimihiro. It’s been a long time!” 

“It definitely has!” Watanuki exclaimed, smiling at Syaoran. He deposited his aunt’s bags safely in the living room, and turned around to greet them too, accepting a shoulder clap from Uncle Shui, and two cheek kisses from Yelan. 

“It’s good to see you, Kimihiro dear,” Aunt Yelan said, smiling. 

Tom grinned from behind them, stuck behind the greetings on the step. “Well, go on and let them in, Kimmie, we’re wasting away out here!” 

Dinner was waiting inside, a joint creation from both him and his father, and the house had smelled wonderful for hours. Watanuki was starving, himself, thought his dad had snacked on so many items from the menu that Watanuki was sure how he still had any room. Watanuki had definitely broken that habit, working the in kitchens. 

“C’mon then, dinner’s ready!” Watanuki said, holding the door open wider. 

“Oh, the traffic coming here was rough,” Yelan sighed, coming in and slipping off her shoes. 

Tom came in and set the rest of his load down, before putting his hands on his hips. 

“Oh, come on, my driving wasn’t that bad!” he said, and Yelan laughed, and hugged him. 

“Of course you did the best you could, dear brother in law,” she said, and then Shui leaned over to whisper to Watanuki. 

“Hit every bump on the way here,” he said, and Watanuki chuckled. 

“Sounds like him.” 

“Hey!” 

Watanuki led them all in, and helped his father pull his aunt and uncles things into the guest room that he’d been sleeping in. His own stuff was moved into his brother's’ room, and that was where Syaoran put his suitcase as well. Watanuki’s brothers were supposed to sleep in their parents’ room till the guests left. Watanuki huffed, wondering how well that would work, considering their insistence on a sleepover. 

After they got the stuff put away, Watanuki showed them to the dining room, where Miranda was getting the meal they’d cooked spread. Watanuki was rather proud of it; a full spread of dim sum, with steamed buns, noodles, rice, and of course the egg tart. His dad was great at the Cantonese style food, and he could always use the brush up, since the Hitsuzen didn’t serve that type of food. He had jotted down a few notes to try out on Doumeki when he got back. 

There were oohs behind him, and everyone came in, smiling and greeting. Yelan apparently knew Miranda pretty well, and soon they were chatting like old friends, and Tom of course, wouldn’t let a silence lengthen for more than a second. Mattie and Finn were peeking out from the hallway into the kitchen, nervous about newcomers, until they saw it was Shui and ran forward. 

“Uncle Shu!” they cried, and got scooped up, laughing and giggling and demanding presents from California. 

Watanuki laughed and then noticed Syaoran standing next to him. He was right in pegging him as subdued, as Syaoran hadn’t said much in the whirlwind of greetings. Well, Watanuki could chat with the best of them. 

“How was the flight?” he asked, turning towards his cousin. “And did the weather hold up, I heard it was stormy...somewhere? You live in California, right? Me too, eh…” he trailed off, realizing he hadn’t left Syaoran any time to talk. “Sorry,” he laughed, rubbing his head.

Syaoran blinked, looking taken aback. “Oh, um. No, it wasn’t too bad. Just a little turbulence, but that’s normal right?” He smiled. “And, I didn’t know you were in California now. What part?” 

“San Blanc, near the university,” Watanuki said. “What about you?” 

Syaoran let out a laugh. “I’m just off campus! Wow, we probably live only a few minutes apart from each other.” 

Watanuki’s eyes widened. “No way, really? That’s crazy, what are the odds? Are you going to school there, then?” 

“Yeah, I am,” Syaoran replied, excitement brightening his face. “I work during the day at a hotel, and take classes at night.” 

“Wow, you sound like my…” Watanuki paused, not sure he wanted to go into that within moments of meeting his cousin again. Yeah, too soon to bring up boyfriends. “My friend. He works with me at the restaurant I work at, and then goes to the school as well.” 

“Really? What’s your friend studying?” 

“History, though he’s emphasizing in Asian studies so he can be a professor,” Watanuki said, feeling a little warm glow of pride. Then he realized that he was talking about Doumeki, and Syaoran didn’t even know who he was, and there was absolutely no reason to go bragging about his boyfriend to his cousin, god he wasn’t some parent! “And, my other friend is studying psychology.” There, with Himawari mentioned too, it was no longer a weird moment of boasting about his ‘friend’. Moving on. “What are you studying?” 

Syaoran had moved past blinking at his long trains of conversation, apparently remembering him as a child, and he took the run on sentences in stride. Convenient. 

“That’s actually pretty similar to what I’m studying. Archaeology with a few minors in history and anthropology. I really like studying pretty much any ancient cultures, so it would be really cool to talk to your friend about what he’s studying. Maybe we could meet up sometime!” 

Watanuki felt himself warm up in the face, and he chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck. So much for changing the subject. 

“Yeah, that’d be fun,” he said. It’d probably happen anyway, if he wanted to keep up the family connection with Syaoran after this, which he was pretty sure he did. It wasn’t everyday he found out that he lived so close to someone he knew so long ago. “I’m sure he’d love to talk about it all.” 

Argh, when was it polite to bring up that he was dating said friend? It seemed like he was making this too complicated. He should have just been casual about it. Damn and ugh. 

“Okay, cool,” Syaoran said, pulling out a pen and a pad of paper from his pocket, flipping through scrawled on pages until he came to a clean one, and scribbling on that one. “Here’s my number, so we can set that up sometimes when the wedding’s over.” 

“Oh,” Watanuki said, taking the torn off paper, a little surprised but amused. “Okay, sounds good. I’ll, uh. I’ll let him know.” 

Just then, Tom called out for dinner, because ‘Dear god, Kimmie, I’m starving let’s get started!’ so Watanuki smiled apologetically, and stuck the paper in his pocket, hoping he’d remember to put the number in his phone before he washed these pants or something. 

They sat and everyone oohed and ahhed over the food, which made Watanuki preen (though not as much as his dad) and then they began eating, sharing around the dishes and chatting happily. Mattie and Finn apparently knew their aunt and uncle pretty well, and got over their shyness quickly, talking at Uncle Shui about everything they could think of. Watanuki found it odd to have an ear to himself, enjoyed the quiet for a moment, chewing a chicken dumpling. 

Beside him, Syaoran was eating as well, humming in what Watanuki hoped was pleasure. 

“This is really good,” he said, glancing sideways, and making Watanuki warm. 

“Thanks! Me and my dad enjoyed cooking it.” 

“That’s what you do for a living, right?” Syaoran asked, looking like he was thinking hard. “Am I remembering that right?” 

Watanuki nodded a few times, “Yes, yes, I’m a chef, back in California.” 

“I can tell,” Syaoran said, taking another bite of one of his egg tarts. “Which restaurant?” 

“The Hitsuzen. The owner is this crazy lady, and the food style is all over the place, but it’s actually quite good-” 

Syaoran was frowning now, furrowing his brow. “Wait, the Hitsuzen… that sounds familiar…” 

Watanuki shrugged. “It’s nearby the university. It’s kinda Japanese/Italian/European? ” he brought up, trying to jog whatever memory Syaoran was trying to find. “ Uh, Yuuko Ichihara is the owner?” 

Syaoran snapped his fingers, looking at him. “That’s it! That’s Yuuko’s other business!” 

Watanuki gaped at him. “You know Yuuko?” 

Syaoran nodded wildly. “The hotel I work for is the Tsubasa, Yuuko’s hotel chain. She hired me personally.” 

Watanuki’s jaw dropped even further. He knew very well about the Tsubasa hotel chain, dotting the country. The Hitsuzen was Yuuko’s pet project, but she got the majority of her assets from that hotel chain. She’d apparently inherited it from a man named Clow Reed, who’d disappeared or something? 

“Are you telling me, that he not only live in the same city, the same neighborhood practically, but that we work for the same employer?” Watanuki said, incredulously. Syaoran stared at him, and then they both burst out laughing. 

“No way,” Syaoran said, giggling. “That’s too crazy, how is that possible?” 

Watanuki was laughing so hard his eyes were welling up, but slowly he became aware that the rest of the table was looking at them, with varying degrees of surprise. He supposed this wasn’t exactly in character for him, and maybe especially for Syaoran. He waved his hand, shaking his head, still laughing.

“Just, just, fate or something. Whoo…” he got control of himself, wiping his eye. “It must be.” 

Syaoran covered his eyes, grinning at the table. “Phew, must have been. Sorry,” he said, to the rest of the table. His parents hummed at him, and Syaoran let out a gusty breath. “Wow.” 

“You two alright?” Tom asked, smiling at them. Watanuki nodded. 

“We’re good.” 

He had to avoid Syaoran’s eyes to stave off another giggle fit. 

~

Later that night, due in part to Mattie and Finn hitting it off with Syaoran and forcing him into too many rounds of video games, Syaoran decided to spend the night in, what was now being called ‘the boy’s room’. Two mattresses were placed beside each other, and Mattie and Finn were directed to sleep on the smaller bed together, and not smother Watanuki or Syaoran, ‘or else’. 

Syaoran laid out his stuff neatly on one side of the room, while Watanuki wrangled his brothers into bed, and tried not to trip over his own bags. He’d had them neat in the guest room, but his brother’s were chaos emitters, and there was no way to keep them organized and keep sane. Syaoran must have magical powers. 

Once the boys were down, and he’d read no less than three stories, he turned out the lights to the sound of twin snores from the bunk bed. Then Watanuki stretched and yawned, even though it wasn’t terribly late, and turned to Syaoran. 

“Sorry for the trouble,” he said quietly, smiling and gesturing to the boys. Syaoran flapped his hand, and shook his head. 

“Oh, no problem. They’ve been great.” 

“You won’t feel that way with their wake up call,” Watanuki said, remembering that first night on the couch. He was still tired from that. “You’re probably a little jetlagged, but from my experience, staying up just makes it worse,” he said. 

Syaoran smiled, and shrugged a little, a gesture he seemed to make a lot. 

“I’ll be alright, I think. I got used to traveling when I was a teenager. I went all over the place with my parents, during the summers.” 

Watanuki’s eyebrows went up. “Wow, where have you been?” 

Syaoran glanced upwards, like he was counting. “Well… at least to every continent. Except Antarctica.” 

“Who’d want to go there?” Watanuki laughed. 

With the lights off, and their whispers, Watanuki was soon feeling tired. He was comfortable on the mattress, though he felt a little bad for making Syaoran sleep on one, instead of a real bed. As a guest, he should have slept on the bunk bed or something? Oh well, it was fun to have a sleep over, and chat softly as they were falling asleep. 

Watanuki was rolling over to make sure his phone was plugged in, when it lit up. He jabbed the volume a second before it blared out, as the ringer would have definitely woken his brothers, and then glanced at the number. It was Doumeki, not really surprising, since they’d been keeping in contact pretty regularly, but… well, he’d usually text before calling. Feeling a weird shiver, he took his phone off the charger. 

“I’m gonna answer this,” he said to Syaoran, and put the phone to his ear. “Hello?” 

There was a silence on the other end, inside which, Watanuki could hear Doumeki breathing. Was that quicker than normal? 

“Hi,” Doumeki said, after a too long pause. “Sorry for calling without texting.” He sounded… strange. Off. Like something was wrong. 

Watanuki waved a hand, even though Doumeki couldn’t see it. “It’s okay. Uh, one sec.” he said, and then really didn’t want listening ears, even if it was family. He put his phone to his shoulder, and turned to Syaoran who was looking away, attempting to not listen. “I’m gonna go outside. I don’t know how long I’ll be so, don’t, uh…” he waved his arm vaguely, then left.

Watanuki closed the door to the room, and then snuck out onto the porch, so he wouldn’t disturb anyone. Outside the streets were still moving, but the pavement was warm, and the immediate area was quiet. He put the phone back to his ear, sitting down on the step. 

“You still there?” he asked, and Doumeki let out a breath. 

“Yeah,” he said, sounding flat. “Who was it you were talking to?” 

“My cousin, Syaoran. He’s staying over. Actually, get this, he lives really near us. He’s going to your school, even! _And_ he works for Yuuko at the hotel!” 

Doumeki let out a huff. “Wow,” he said, and that’s when Watanuki knew something was the matter, because that was ridiculous news, and Doumeki usually reacted with a bit more liveliness to stuff like that. 

Watanuki frowned at the phone. 

“Hey, are you okay?” he asked, before he could second guess himself. “You sound… weird.” 

Doumeki was quiet, and Watanuki frowned harder, hating having to talk over the phone. It was hard enough to tell what the guy was thinking, without not being able to see his face. 

“You know I can’t see what face you’re making, right?” Watanuki said, growing peevish in spite of himself. Still nothing from Doumeki, and he let out a sigh. “Look, you called me, so you might as well tell me.” 

Doumeki was struggling, apparently. Watanuki rolled his eyes, and tried to rack his brain as to what this could be. He was going to a birthday party tonight, wasn’t he?

“Did… did something happen with your family?” he asked, and Doumeki let out a breath, finally finding words. 

“Yeah…” he breathed. Watanuki frowned, a new sick feeling rising up within him. Could it have something to do with him? He knew that Doumeki had only told a few people in his family so far that he was gay, or whatever. Dating a boy. After a long pause, Doumeki got more out. 

“It was my cousins… they don’t know about you, were badgering me about my love life… they…” 

Watanuki put his arm around his stomach, lifting his free hand to his face, curling his fingers over his lips. 

“Did they have a bad reaction?” he asked, not sure why he was feeling so hurt, so sickened by that thought. He knew that Doumeki’s parents were fine with him, liked him even. But Doumeki came from a big and tight knit family… if they weren’t okay with this…

Doumeki breathed out. “No, it wasn’t… like that. They were rough housing, to get me to talk. I panicked, and told them, then left. So I don’t know. If they reacted badly.” 

Watanuki’s tension unraveled, and he found himself filled with understanding, rather than hurt. Then, growing anger.

“Oh,” he breathed. They’d held Doumeki down, and forced him to talk, probably not expecting to get a coming out confession from their cousin, just an admittance of a girlfriend, or something. “That’s awful!” Watanuki’s brow furrowed, and fist clenched. 

Doumeki breathed out. “Yeah.” 

Watanuki’s irritation forced him to his feet. “How could they-, they’re supposed to be your family, that’s just-” he stopped, panting slightly. “Are you alright?” 

Doumeki seemed taken aback at his reaction. “I’m fine. They didn’t hurt me.” 

Watanuki found his fist was trembling, and he tightened it, glaring out into the street. Yes, they did. They did hurt him, or he wouldn’t have called him. Wouldn’t have been so quiet on the phone, and he wouldn’t still be speaking flatly now. 

“Argh, I can’t believe-” Watanuki wished he was there, to see what face Doumeki was making more (slightly) more accurately gage how upset he was. To make food for him, and let him kiss him, and stop this awful silence. “Are you still at their place?” 

Doumeki was quiet a moment too long. “No, I went home. I think I’m gonna go on a run soon.” 

It was like nine at night there, but Watanuki wouldn’t stop him. He wanted to talk to him, get the full story, but Doumeki didn’t work like that, especially over the phone. He was honestly surprised he’d called him, knowing the situation. Watanuki breathed out gustily, rubbing a hand over his face. 

“And you’re okay?” he asked, and Doumeki hummed. 

“I feel better now,” he said, and Watanuki snorted. 

“Good, at least one of us does,” Watanuki said, in an almost undertone. Doumeki stilled. 

“You don’t have to be upset; they don’t even know you.” 

Oh, suddenly _Doumeki’s_ the reasonable one? 

“That’s right, they don’t know me, and they don’t know you! Not well enough, anyway. I can’t believe they just forced you to talk, what assholes.” Actually swearing felt like a good idea. “Damn it all.”

“Calm down,” Doumeki said, and Watanuki sighed. “It’s out now. It doesn’t matter.” 

“It should have been on your terms,” Watanuki said, pouting his lips. 

“Yeah, but it wasn’t. It’s fine,” Doumeki said, sounding calmer now. Watanuki listened as he took a breath. “I’m gonna go running now. Thank’s for listening.” 

Watanuki felt like he’d ranted the whole time, but Doumeki was saying goodnight before he could make that point. 

“Night,” Watanuki said, and Doumeki wished him the same, and hung up. Watanuki sat on the porch, and glared at the phone, and by extension his stupid boyfriend, and his intruding cousins and everyone who’d ever made life the tiniest bit harder for him or Doumeki. Gah. 

~

Watanuki fumed out on the porch for a while, and then came back in, laying down in his bed and knowing that he wouldn’t be able to sleep for a while. He considered texting Doumeki, to send more of his thoughts, or to ask for Doumeki’s, since sometimes writing was better… but in the end, he decided he was too mad to type it all out, and so just plugged his phone in, and flopped down. 

Across the small gap between their mattresses, Syaoran blinked at him in the light of the street lights. His eyes were alert, and awake, so Watanuki didn’t think he’d woken him, but he wasn’t sure if he’d been loud anyway. 

“Sorry,” Watanuki said, about the huffing and puffing he’d probably been doing. 

Syaoran's blanket lump shifted. “S’okay. Everything alright?” 

So he was obviously agitated. Wasn’t this reasonable? Was this an overreaction, or was everyone else just repressing their damn emotions? 

Then Syaoran was blinking, waving a hand weakly between them. “Not that you have to tell me! None of my business.” 

Watanuki shook his head against the pillow, probably about to overspill, but hey, they were family. 

“No, it’s fine. It’s just- can I rant to you?” 

Syaoran glanced at the boys, and then nodded. Watanuki flicked his hand. “They’ll sleep through anything. It’s just, my, oh god, well, my friend I told you about earlier, is actually my boyfriend, and so there’s that.” 

He looked at Syaoran, who seemed to realize he was waiting for a response to that. 

“O-oh, that’s… cool. My roommate is bi, so no worries.” 

Watanuki blew out a breath. “Good, well, anyway he hadn’t told most of his family about us, and the whole thing, so today apparently his cousins were getting after him to tell them about his love life, and held him down, and forced him to talk! And he calls all upset, because they _made_ him come out to his whole extended family, and then he’s calming me down! I think it’s understandable to be a little upset?” Watanuki’s voice was getting strident, so he took the volume down a notch. “Argh, and he’s a super quiet person, so then I couldn’t even get him to say two words together at first, so I _know_ he was upset, and I just, I can’t believe his own cousins would do something like that! I’m not crazy, right? This is a big deal?” 

"Ye-yeah, it is a big deal. That was really… not good of them. I can imagine if I were in that situation, I'd be really upset."

Watanuki blew out a breath, and flopped down on his back. 

“Good. Thanks, Syaoran…” Watanuki rubbed his eyes, realized he’d put his glasses back on for the phone call, and never taken them off, and stuck then next to his phone, between the mattress and the wall, where no one would step on them with little feet. “He just… under reacts sometimes, and it makes me feel like a crazy person.” 

Syaoran made a noise, and a hand found his shoulder to pat it, awkwardly but sincerely. Watanuki’s remaining anger was eased by a gladness that he’d found out about his cousin again. And that _his_ cousin wasn’t a part of a group of annoying, invasive twits. 

Abruptly, Watanuki felt really tired. He pressed his face into his pillow, his anger draining away, though he didn’t think he’d be forgiving those cousins any time soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Syaoran's family, except for his father is all from Card Captor Sakura, including his mom's name and general personality. Syaoran's world must be explored someday, as the whole Tsubasa gang is over there, but I have yet to make any plans for that. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doumeki goes to work and avoids thinking. Unsuccessfully.

Doumeki got back late from his run, and decided to not look at his phone, before he collapsed into his bed, headphones in still to discourage LaVon from conversation. He looked pretty into his TV show though, and only offered a wave as Doumeki came in, for which Doumeki was grateful. He let the noise of LaVon’s excited and horrified reactions to whatever it was he was watching wash over the music he was playing, before he fell asleep without thinking. 

The next day, he had work the afternoon to evening shift, so he slept in, and only looked at his phone when he munched on a light breakfast/lunch of toast and an apple that would hopefully get him through to close, even though his stomach had been churning since he woke up. He had 17 messages on his phone. Doumeki closed his eyes and sighed, before beginning to open them. 

Most of them were from his younger cousins, the teens who hadn’t been directly involved, but still sent frantic apologies and expressions of support. They did make him feel a little better, and he took another bite while he didn’t feel sick. 

There were more texts, from the twins. More apologies, specifically for not stopping Noah. There wasn’t anything from Noah, and there was one from Watanuki that he did and didn’t want to read. He decided to finish his food, before opening it. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling (besides tired definitely) but Watanuki’s anger last night had been surprising and overwhelming. Maybe he should be mad too, but Doumeki just really wished it hadn’t happened.

Doumeki put his phone away, and got ready for work, grabbing a granola bar he probably wouldn’t be able to eat. The toast was already unpleasant in his stomach. 

Work started in a haze, and Doumeki lost himself in being politely reliable for a few of his regulars, and serving the Saturday afternoon specials with his normal calm. It wasn’t the busiest time of day for them, but soon they’d be getting the dinner rush, and the line would stack up. He didn’t talk much in general to the other employees, so no one noticed that he was being quieter than usual - and if they did, they probably assumed he was missing Watanuki, which was true. Himawari would be coming on in a couple hours and she’d definitely notice something was wrong, but before that Doumeki just wanted to get through the day. Doumeki filled his thoughts with orders of noodles, and the variations a table of six wanted on the exact same burger order. Lemonades and cokes orders (one with exactly two and a half lime slices) took up his concentration, and he was feeling okay. 

Then, a smiling man entered the front door, and asked for a table in his section. Doumeki would recognize that hat and grin anywhere. 

“Heya Shizuka,” said his grandpa Haruka, as he came up to his table. “How’s it going?” 

It wasn’t the first time that Haruka had come to the restaurant, but it was the first time he’d come without letting Doumeki know in advance. He could only assume that someone had told him what had happened, and he came to check up on him. Doumeki warred between feeling annoyed and touched about that, so he settled on startled and went with that. 

“Grandpa,” he said, hand already on his notebook. “What are you doing here?” 

Haruka smiled at him, and held up the menu. 

“Why, I came to eat, my boy. I know it’s not Kimihiro-kun cooking today, but the restaurant is still plenty good at some basics.” 

Doumeki blinked at him, and then recalled that he was supposed to be working. 

“... Are you ready to order?” he asked, and Haruka tapped his nose, and thought for a moment. 

“I’ll have the miso ginger chicken plate, with the garlic bread on the side.” 

Yuuko’s place was all about weird food combinations. 

“Anything to drink?” 

“Green tea here any good?” Haruka asked, and Doumeki nodded. “Then, I’ll have that.” 

Doumeki nodded, and went to put in the order, bringing out his grandpa’s tea, and pouring a cup. Haruka thanked him, and then waved behind him. Doumeki turned to see Yuuko gliding out the back, a smile on her face. 

“Haruka, so wonderful to see you again!” Yuuko exclaimed, as Haruka stood and they kissed the air by each other’s cheeks. They’d really hit it off the last time Doumeki’s family had visited. 

“Yuuko, you goddess you. How goes the restaurant business?” 

Yuuko’s laughter pealed. “Oh you know, never boring in the slightest! How’s the family?” 

“Same old. Shizuka here’s a little lonely this week, though.” 

Yuuko smirked, and flipped her hand. “Oh, I know! I’ve felt so bad for the dear; with Watanuki gone all our lives are a little less bright.” 

“That’s our Kimihiro-kun!” 

Doumeki felt his face warm, and luckily Haruka noticed. 

“Oh, but we’re embarrassing him. Actually, Yuuko, I wondered if I could borrow the kid for five minutes. Does he have a break coming up?”

“Why, I’m sure I can find someone to cover his tables for a few minutes,” Yuuko said, so accommodating. Haruka clapped his hands. 

“Wonderful! C’mon son, let’s go take a smoke break while we wait.” 

Doumeki frowned. “I don’t smoke.” 

“Pft,” Haruka said, flipping his hands around like it didn’t matter. Doumeki sighed, and flipped down the top of his apron to follow him outside. 

On the side step, Haruka pulled out one of his hand rolled cigarettes, and lit it up. The smell of the expensive tobacco sending Doumeki back to his childhood. Mom never liked the habit, and Haruka hardly ever did it anymore because of a lung cancer scare and to not entice Doumeki to start when he’d turned a teen, but it was a fond smell just the same. 

“Don’t tell your mother,” Haruka said, taking a puff. Doumeki huffed, and leaned back on the wall, looking out into the parking lot. 

“So, what are you really doing here, grandpa?” Doumeki asked, putting his hands in his pockets. Haruka blew out a plume, and glanced over at him, a smile on his face. 

“Can’t a grandfather visit his grandson at work?” 

Doumeki nodded. “Mhm. And you have. After calling.” 

Haruka nodded in return, lazily turning his eyes towards the cars in front of them. Doumeki sighed, and realized that even if someone had told Haruka about what happened, as he suspected, and his grandpa had come to check up on him, he wasn’t going to bring it up himself. Haruka was the only one in Doumeki’s life who could use silence to make him talk - usually that was his trick. 

“Did… you hear what happened?” Doumeki asked, quietly. Haruka took a breath, and let out the smoke. 

“Why don’t you tell me what happened?” he asked, and Doumeki knew his grandpa wanted to hear his side of things. Doumeki folded his arms across his stomach, wishing he hadn’t even brought it up. 

“I told them about Watanuki. They were getting after me, and I didn’t want to, but I said it. It’s not their fault.” 

Haruka put his hand up. “I’m not here to get anyone in trouble - not unless you want me to. I just want to make sure you’re alright. It seemed to me you were pretty upset last night.” 

“I’m fine,” Doumeki said. “Watanuki’s more mad than me.” 

“At you?” Haruka asked, looking troubled. Doumeki shook his head. 

“At them.” _Thank goodness_. “He was really upset at Noah and the others.” 

Haruka was quiet a while, pulling on his cigarette. 

“He cares about you. It’s understandable he’d be upset that someone did that. Family no less.” 

Doumeki looked at the ground, still and silent, before mumbling. “They were teasing. It wasn’t a big deal.” 

“They’re your cousins,” Haruka said, mildly. “You’ve known them your whole life, and last night you could say they broke your trust. It’s not a good feeling, I’ll bet.” 

Doumeki didn’t want to speak, didn’t want to tell his grandpa about how he’d felt sick since it happened, and that Watanuki’s anger made it way too real - yet it also proved that he wasn’t overreacting. It was uncomfortable, and comforting at the same time. He didn’t know how that was possible, but there it was. 

Doumeki sighed, slumping back against the wall. Haruka looked at him with sympathy. 

“It’s okay to be upset, kid,” he said softly, and Doumeki nodded. Haruka let him be for the length of time it took to finish his cigarette, and then stamped it out in the ashtray one of the employees had brought out here. 

“So what now?” Haruka then asked, putting his hands in his pockets, in a habit that Doumeki knew he’d gotten from him. Doumeki shrugged. He knew he should talk to Watanuki, since he hadn’t texted him back that morning. He was probably worried. Honestly, knowing Watanuki, by now he was probably frantic. 

He should also talk to Noah, and the twins, but he thought he was justified waiting a little before that. And also…

“I think I’ll call Sasuke,” he said, and Haruka lifted an eyebrow. Doumeki shrugged. “We’re kinda in the same boat, I guess.” Both gay, both with family issues. It seemed to fit. 

“Well, I won’t stop you. Sasuke’s a good kid, even if you’re my favorite grandson!” 

Doumeki rolled his eyes a little, and Haruka put his hand on Doumeki’s shoulder. 

“Good luck with everything, Shizuka. I know you’ll figure it out. I’m gonna go see if they’ve brought that lunch yet!” 

“Thanks grandpa,” Doumeki said. Haruka nodded, put his hat back on, and turned around with a grin and a backwards wave. He headed around towards the door to check on his food. 

Doumeki took a breath, and turned to go back inside, but not before checking his phone for the message from Watanuki. 

_I’m sorry I upset you last night, didn’t mean to. It’s just not okay for someone to force you to say that, even family. I hope you’re okay today, call me since you hung up on me yesterday, jerk_

The message ended there, with no punctuation, making Doumeki think he’d tacked on the insult to try and bring back their usual interaction. Doumeki appreciated it. He responded really quickly, before heading inside to take care of his poor neglected tables. 

_Thanks, I’m fine. At work until close, so it’d be late for you_

He slipped his phone into his pocket, but it buzzed in his hand before he released it. Doumeki pulled it out again and looked at the response, way quicker than usual. 

_Call anyway. Texting’s annoying, I wanna hear your voice, so I can tell if you’re lying about how you feel_

Doumeki’s lips quirked in spite of himself, and he replied once more, before firmly putting his phone in his pocket. 

_Ok. Miss you too_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I probably won't be able to get the next part up until the weekend, or after, because it's my sister's wedding this week, and life is nuts. Congrats to her, and all, but my fingers hurt from building a frame for a photo booth, and I still need to do a million other things. Okay, I'm done. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Watanuki and Doumeki make up, and the wedding moves closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! After a week of insanity because of a family wedding in real life, let's get back to this fictional wedding in an alternate universe :D

Watanuki had really tried to pay attention to his family during the day on Saturday. Wedding stuff was going on, like a luncheon with everyone - and by everyone, Watanuki really meant _everyone_. The whole extended family on his dad’s side was there, which was really Tom’s and Shui’s families, but Shui had four other daughters older than Syaoran, and _they_ had families too, so it was pretty big, even though his grandparents on that side were back in China. Then Miranda had parents, aunts and uncles and cousins galore. They’d rented out one level of a restaurant for the whole thing, and the whole event took up hours of eating and chatting. 

Watanuki stuck by Syaoran, and took care of his brothers through it all, since there weren’t that many younger kids, and Mattie and Finn were shy. There was chatting and people to meet, and all kinds of things going on, but he was still damn distracted. 

Because he’d sent a text to Doumeki that morning, an apology and expression of concern in one that he’d hoped to get a response to by now. But his phone stayed stubbornly silent, and Watanuki was getting anstier and antsier the longer the day went on. 

Tom looked at him sideways during a moment free, frowning Watanuki’s own frown back at him. 

“You okay, kid? Feeling alright about all this?” 

Watanuki blinked, and started at being addressed, only to yelp as one of the pins that Aunt Yelan was poking into his suit jabbed into his side. He and Uncle Shui were Tom’s best men, and Aunt Yelan had decided that neither of his or his dad’s suits were up to par. Shui’s suit was of course, perfectly tailored, even if Shui himself looked haphazard in most of what he wore. 

“Hold still,” she chided, and he straightened up. 

“Sorry,” he said, and then grimaced. “Yeah, Dad, I’m fine.” 

His dad was getting a similar treatment from one of Syaoran’s sisters - to be 100% honest, he couldn’t tell which one it was, Fuutie, or Feimei or something - getting the white suit he’d wear tomorrow completely fitted. He turned his head, and got a jab himself. 

“Ouch! Are you sure, you look worried,” Tom said, biting his lip. 

Watanuki looked ahead, but glanced at his dad out of the corner of his eye. “You’re the one who looks nervous, Dad. For no good reason at all, you already know you and Miranda work.” 

Tom sighed, and smiled. “Yeah, you’re right I guess.” 

“I know,” Watanuki replied. “And I’m absolutely happy for you.” 

“Thanks, son,” Tom said. 

Watanuki let out a breath, and held even stiller as he felt a pin on the inside of his leg prick. This was agony, holding still when he was (he’d admit it) so anxious. His phone was in his folded up clothes on the bed behind him, and he couldn’t even see it if it lit up, and Doumeki responded while he was trussed up here. He shifted foot to foot. Then squeaked at no less than three pins that jabbed him. 

“You deserved that,” Yelan said, around a mouthful of _more_ pins. Watanuki sighed, and resigned himself. 

Later, he and Syaoran escaped wedding preparation by volunteering to take Mattie and Finn to Central Park for the rest of the afternoon, getting them out of everyone’s hair as well. The Saturday traffic was as bad as Watanuki remembered, but he didn’t mind so much once they got to the grassy landscapes and ponds that made the park famous in this big city. 

Finn had certainly taken to Syaoran, and was tugging on his jacket as they walked up the path to the gates to the park. 

“Piggy back, Syao!” 

“Finn, that’s not polite,” Watanuki chided, holding Mattie’s hand as they walked. Finn nodded. 

“Piggy back, Syao, _please_!” 

Watanuki ran a hand down his face. “I suppose that’s a little better.” 

Syaoran had been blinking at the two kids since they left, taken aback by their energy, Watanuki guessed. 

“Uh- well,” 

“You don’t have to Syaoran. Guys, give him some space.” 

Mattie decided to chime in. “Kimmie, I want a piggy back ride too!” 

“No,” Watanuki said, just as Syaoran said. “I guess that’s alright.” 

Watanuki sighed, as Mattie pouted at him with a masterful skill. 

“Fine.” 

Both boys clambered up onto his and Syaoran’s backs, and clung on, whooping and hollering for them to race. Watanuki met Syaoran’s eyes with a quirk of an eyebrow. 

“Whaddya say?” Watanuki asked, and Syaoran grinned at him. They took off running, laughing in spite of themselves. 

Watanuki let his brothers walk all over them, buying them popsicles and following them around the park wherever they wanted to go. He and Syaoran trailed behind them at playgrounds, and chatted about anything under the sun. 

“So, what’s her name?” Watanuki asked, smiling broadly as Syaoran blushed. He’d let slip that he had a girl in his life, periphery it may be. 

“S-Sakura. Sakura Kinomoto. Her family manages the hotel I work at.” 

“How did you meet?” Watanuki asked, and Syaoran turned even redder. 

“I’ve known her since we were kids. We used to stay in that hotel for Mom and Dad’s business trips, and she’s always been there. We’d spend Christmases together there.” 

“Then you got a job there. Have you told her how you feel?” Watanuki asked, because the whole story was adorable, and it was completely and utterly obvious how Syaoran felt about her. But, he shook his head. 

“N-no, I haven’t.” 

“Yet?” 

Syaoran shrugged, rubbing the back of his burning neck. “Heh, I don’t know yet.” 

Watanuki grinned at him, and let it go. He hoped to meet her one day, and he hoped that Syaoran made a move, because she sounded lovely. 

Syaoran looked back towards the kids, and Watanuki saw Mattie and Finn had joined a big tag game with some other kids. Glad they were entertaining themselves for the moment, Watanuki pulled out his phone again, to check it with preemptive disappointment rising up again in his stomach. 

Doumeki hadn’t contacted him all day. He’d sent an apology text, hoping this wasn’t this bad, hoping they could still get through this, but honestly he was hurt that Doumeki hadn’t replied. It was early afternoon there, so he was probably at work...which meant no text until this evening, well, closer to the middle of the night for him. It was the first day since he’d left that he’d not spoken to Doumeki at all, and anger _at_ Doumeki was growing, covering up the worry for him, and anger at his family. Argh, it was so confusing. 

Then, as he held his phone, he saw with a swooping surprise, a text come in right then. 

_Thanks, I’m fine. At work until close, so it’d be late for you_

Watanuki breathed in and out, rolling his eyes at this _idiot_ who doesn’t even apologize for making him wait so long. What, did he think that Watanuki wouldn’t want to wait up? After all this, he’d damn well better call! 

Watanuki typed back quickly, hoping he caught Doumeki before he put his phone back in his pocket. He must be on break at work, but Watanuki was too annoyed at the thought that he might have to wait. The worry was back, and Watanuki just really wanted to _see_ Doumeki’s face. He couldn’t read him at all from a distance, didn’t even know if he was alright at all, or just pretending. 

_Call anyway. Texting’s annoying, I wanna hear your voice, so I can tell if you’re lying about how you feel_

Doumeki’s response came back right after, probably his send off before going back to work, but the words broke Watanuki’s agitation, and made a wave of relief rush through him. 

_Ok. Miss you too_

Watanuki bowed forward, breathing out a sigh, and shaking his head. Gah, he was so _dumb_! Watanuki didn’t respond to that, but it was true. He felt the same. He missed Doumeki. This whole thing was so stupid. 

Syaoran was not watching him, but he could tell that he was paying attention as Watanuki slipped his phone back into his pocket, feeling a calmness settle over him. 

“Everything okay?” he asked, quietly, still looking forward. Watanuki let out a breath, and nodded. 

“Yeah. It’s fine now.” 

Syaoran nodded, and moved slightly away to look where Mattie was running around the other edge of the playground. Watanuki shook his head at himself, wondering when he’d accepted this, that this guy could come into his life, and just make him care. Watanuki didn’t know when it had happened, but it was true - he cared now. He cared if Doumeki was happy, if he was eating right without him there, if he was lonely or upset. It was so /stupid/ and not what he wanted… not what he had wanted anyway. Or maybe it was. Maybe this was what he’d tried so hard to find with all those other people? Maybe it was supposed to feel like this; warm and tangled, and confusing and maddening, and so… good. Watanuki sighed again, closed his eyes, and then stepped forward. 

“Finn, Mattie! I’m it!” he called, and ran into the playground area, where his brothers were already screeching in anticipation, and his cousin was laughing. Nothing to do about it now, he supposed, as he ran and played. He wasn’t quitting on this any time soon. 

____________

 

Doumeki finished his shift by ten, and he left quickly. After his grandfather had talked to him, and he’d texted Watanuki, his anxiety had eased, and he’d been able to finish out his shift without more trouble, and even had the reserves to deal with a particularly _terrible_ table, with a woman who just would not be satisfied. After he brought out her meal twice, and given her a complimentary dessert, she tipped him moderately well, and Doumeki was completely satisfied with that 17%. 

Himawari came in for the closing hours, and chatted to him about her schoolwork and family, in between tables. Her persona cheered him up the rest of the way, and he was feeling pretty good as the night went on, he even bought himself some dinner (at half price while on shift). 

“We’re all psych majors in the class, so there’s no reason to go over basic Freud again, and again!” she said, and Doumeki had agreed as he chewed his thai curry noodles, even though he’d only taken one psych class, and barely remembered Freud specifically, among the whole list of notable psychologists. 

Himawari laughed, and shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind so much, if it wasn’t just Freud’s theories are so dull.” 

“Isn’t he the one who said everything was about sex?” Doumeki asked, and Himawari chuckled. 

“It seems like that’s all he thought about, at least. Oh well,” Himawari shrugged again. “Without him, I wouldn’t have a major, so,” 

“True,” Doumeki said. 

The night went on, and for once, there weren’t people stacked up against the door as they were trying to close. Doumeki wasn’t quite a closer tonight, Himawari was the server staying until eleven, while Doumeki was only scheduled until ten unless crowds happened. SInce it was quiet, he got to leave on time. 

He waved at Himawari as he passed through the kitchen to get his bag, and she set down her dishes bin to wave him closer. 

“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you, how are you since Watanuki’s been gone? You seemed a little down when I got here.”

Doumeki guessed she’d been worried about him, but had waited until the kitchen was more empty to ask him. He shrugged one shoulder, feeling his face warm just a little. 

“I miss him,” he said, the _obviously_ implied. “But, it’s not that. Just stress with family.” 

Himawari nodded, humming. “That can be the worst kind of stress.” 

“Mh” Doumeki responded, pulling his bag over his shoulder. 

“Well let me know if you need anything. Or you’re bored.,” she said, hitching up her bin again. “We’re both off tomorrow night, wanna do a movie?” 

Doumeki thought about it for a moment, and nodded. 

Himawari took that as enough reassurance, because she patted his shoulder, and smiled at him. 

“Okay, my place at seven. And don’t worry. Watanuki will be back before you know it. I’m sorry about your family stuff. Good luck!” 

“Thanks,” Doumeki said, and quirked his lips at her. They’d been better friends, since that incident with his dentist, and he was glad of it. “See you.” 

“Say hi to him for me,” she called, and turned to head back out on the floor. 

Doumeki was glad it was a little earlier than he’d expected, because he had someone he wanted to call first quickly, before he spoke to Watanuki. 

He dialed in the car, and turned on the speakerphone, to a little used number. It rang, and Doumeki had two seconds to wonder if he should have texted first, before his cousin Sasuke picked up. 

“Hello?” he asked, low and quiet. There was sound behind him, like the tv was going, and another man’s voice. “Shizuka?” 

“Hi Sasuke,” Doumeki said, unsure now what he wanted to say. Unsure if this was a good idea at all. His older cousin had always been shy sounding, and he and Doumeki hadn’t connected so much as stood beside each other in silence, growing up. He’d never called him, he thought, and they rarely texted.

“Hey, uh…” Sasuke said. “I wondered if you’d, I dunno, reach out.” 

“Yeah,” Doumeki said, driving carefully. “Guess we’re in the same boat.” After all, he too had come out to the family a few years ago (not that Doumeki was surprised, since he’d known about his experimentations in high school, having found out at the same party that Doumeki himself ‘experimented’.

“Yeah,” Sasuke said. 

“So you heard then.” The noise behind him grew quieter, and Sasuke spoke to someone softly, before he came on the line clearer. 

“It went around the grapevine. These things always do.” Sasuke said. “You okay?” 

Doumeki nodded as he drove, then responded. “Yeah, I’m fine. They weren’t mean or anything.” 

“I heard it was Noah? Have you talked to him yet?” Sasuke then asked, and Doumeki sighed. 

“No. I’m not exactly… mad at him, but I dunno what to say.”

Sasuke hummed. “He’s a good guy. He never said a bad word about me. I’m sure he never meant to do what he did.” 

“I know.” He still didn’t want to talk to him first though. 

“I’m not saying you _should_ talk to him, but I’m sure he’ll apologize.” 

Doumeki was quiet, nodding a little. 

Sasuke was quiet too, for a long moment. “I… never said thanks, for keeping my secret back then.” 

Doumeki blinked, thinking back to that night. They’d both kissed the same guy, it wasn’t like he would have outed his cousin when he’d done the same thing. 

“You too,” Doumeki said. There was a long pause, and then Doumeki spoke hesitantly, saying something that had been on his mind. 

“Sasuke, you’re… happy with the person you’re with, right? You feel like you made the right decision.” 

There was a shuffle over the phone, like Sasuke was turning around, perhaps to look at the owner of the voice he’d heard behind his cousin. 

“Yeah, I do. You?” 

Doumeki thought of Watanuki, and felt a burn in his chest, the feeling of _missing_ hitting him hard. 

“Yeah. Very much.” 

“That’s all that matters then.” Sasuke’s voice was firm, and Doumeki felt calmed. 

“Yeah.” It didn’t matter that his family did or didn’t find out. In fact, it was easier that they all knew. He knew he was lucky - there were so many people whose families had objected or rejected them, in Doumeki’s situation. To have their support, solid if enthusiastic, was a good thing. He continued driving, turning onto the street where his complex was. “I’m almost home, sorry for calling so late, by the way. Just got off work.” 

“It’s okay. Good luck with everything then. Call if you need to… talk, I suppose. Or need anything.” 

“Thanks.”

~

After running upstairs to change, and greeting and escaping his roommates, Doumeki went outside for another late night walk. It was a warm night again, and it was nice to walk and talk to Watanuki. It seemed to make the words flow easier - though, anything would be easier than their last call. Doumeki hadn’t been able to say much, his words stuck in his throat like glue, hot burning behind his eyes and throat, that only got worse the more he didn’t talk and Watanuki got mad. 

No, this time would be better. 

Doumeki pressed send on Watanuki’s number, and let it ring, hoping he hadn’t taken too long with his cousin, and that Watanuki hadn’t fallen asleep. It was nearly eleven here, so it that meant it was nearly two am in New York, but Watanuki answered on the second ring, sounding tired but awake. 

“Hi,” he said, and Doumeki felt a rush of fondness. 

“Hey,” Doumeki replied, and sank down on the curb, the cement still radiating heat from the hot day. “How are you?” 

Watanuki huffed. “I was going to ask you that. You’re okay?” He sounded worried, and faintly annoyed - so just like himself. It was nice. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Really.” Doumeki felt his tension leave slowly, as he confessed. “I’m sorry for last night.” 

“And for not talking to me all day too?” Watanuki asked, and Doumeki half winced (though, with the time difference, he hadn’t ignored it for nearly as long as it seemed, since he’d been asleep when Watanuki sent it at 4 am his time. Regardless.)

“That too…” Doumeki breathed out, remembering how he couldn’t even open Watanuki’s text. ”I read it at work. My grandpa came and talked to me there, actually. So, I could…” 

Watanuki humphed, and then relented. “I get it. Sorry I made you… uncomfortable. I am still mad at your cousin, though.” 

Doumeki nodded, knowing Watanuki well enough to know he was a protective idiot, even though he fought himself the whole way. 

“You don’t know Noah, but I’m sure he’s sorry. Please don’t be mad at him.” 

Watanuki humphed again, and sighed. “I’ll try. _You_ should be mad, though. The whole thing was totally uncalled for-” 

“Watanuki…” 

“Okay, okay. I’ll really do my best.” Watanuki voice got quieter. “I wish I’d been there.” 

Whether Watanuki meant at the family party, or just in town in general, Doumeki didn’t know, but he was touched. It surely had made things more complicated between them for a bit, since their track record at distance communication wasn’t that great. He knew he had a hard time with the phone, and it frustrated Watanuki to not be able to see his face. 

“It’s okay,” Doumeki said. “Just a few more days.” 

“Mhm,” Watanuki was quiet a moment, the way he got when he was tired before he spiraled into spazzing, and Doumeki remembered that it was really late for him. He’d stayed up just to talk to Doumeki. 

“You should go to sleep. The wedding’s tomorrow, right?” Doumeki said, and Watanuki breathed out, halfway yawning. 

“Yup. Everything is crazy.” 

Doumeki had only been to cousin’s weddings, so he didn’t have much experience with the actual preparations. Still, that did seem to be the case. 

“Guess so.” Doumeki let the silence stretch out a moment, and Watanuki didn’t fill it, which was a good indicator that he was exhausted. “Go to bed. It’s late.” 

“Mhm,” Watanuki said, somehow giving the impression that his eyes were closed already. “Hey Doumeki?” 

“Mm?”

“I’m glad I’m coming back soon,” he said, and Doumeki felt a warmth shoot straight through him. 

“Me too, Watanuki. Good night.” 

“Night,” Watanuki said, and the phone beeped to end the call. Doumeki lowered the phone from his ear, and sat back on the curb, looking at up the night. For once, it was quiet on the streets, and he could see the moon, if not the stars because of the street lights, and the city around him. He sighed, feeling sappy and warm, and yes, glad that Watanuki was coming home.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gifts are given, apologies made, a wedding happens, and finally, Watanuki returns home.

Yet again, Watanuki woke after far too little sleep to people pounding around the house. The wedding day was off to an early start, apparently. Across the gap between their mattresses, Syaoran rolled over, moaning a little into his pillow, and sliding his face across his own puddle of drool. Watanuki laughed as Syaoran startled himself, and then woke up with a little huff of disgust. 

“Morning,” Watanuki mumbled, eyes heavy but feeling amused. Syaoran wiped his face, and nodded back vaguely. 

Glancing around, Watanuki could see that the sun was already up, and therefore the boys were too, as the bunk beds were empty. Watanuki pressed his face into his pillow, stretching and breathing into his pillow case for a long drawn out moment, before he relaxed and rolled onto his back. 

“What time is it?” he said, and Syaoran hummed, pulling out his phone. 

“Seven… so… four am for us.” 

Watanuki moaned. He’d been here long enough to have adjusted, but he still yawned, knowing he’d stayed up way too late for this. It had been worth it though. Doumeki was okay, and so were the two of them. He wouldn’t admit to being antsy to get home, but it would be nice to not have to navigate their relationship through text and phone call only. Next time, he should bring his laptop so they could at least video call. Could he do that on his phone? He wasn’t nearly tech savy enough for long distance. 

He blew out, and looked over at his cousin. 

“Sorry I was so late last night,” he said. “I didn’t wake you did I?”

Syaoran shook his head, blushing a little. “I was still awake when you came in,” he admitted, and Watanuki quirked an eyebrow. Syaoran then blushed a lot. “I was texting. But I pretended to be asleep until your eyes were closed.” 

Watanuki barely remembered lying down, so it couldn’t have been too long. 

“Who were you texting?” he asked, beginning to smile. Syaoran covered his face with his hands, and Watanuki’s grin grew to shit-eating proportions. “It was Sakura, wasn’t it?” 

Syaoran pulled his blankets up over his tomato face, and Watanuki laughed fully, delighted and surprised by how happy that made him. And hey, it’s not like he could talk. Syaoran had been hearing about his relationship drama for days. 

Syaoran’s head emerged, and he was blushing but smiling shyly, so Watanuki grinned and shook his shoulder. 

“Don’t tell me you asked her out over text?” he said, and Syaoran shook his head. 

“No, I didn’t fully. But I asked to talk to her tomorrow, when I get back.”

“Ah, that’s great!” Watanuki crowed, and Syaoran went redder, nerves coming up into his face. He pressed his hands against his eyes. 

“I don’t know why I did it when I’m still so far away,” he moaned. “It took me forever to fall asleep, and I still have to get through today…” 

Watanuki patted him on the arm. “Don’t be nervous. It’s gonna go fine, I know it!” 

Syaoran peeked out, and sat up, looking at him, pleased and miserable at the same time. “If you say so,” he said, faintly. Watanuki laughed again. 

Just then, thundering footsteps echoed through the house, and the two boys burst into the bedroom, leaping and landing on Watanuki and Syaoran, giggling and shrieking. 

“Save us!” they yelled, while the two older boys grunted at the weight on them. Tom raced in after them, looking wild eyed. 

“Boys! It’s time to put on your suits! Kimmie, could you help-”

“I got it dad,” Watanuki said, grabbing Finn around his squirming waist. “Go do whatever you need to do. And relax!” 

Tom was already turning around, and let out a frantic ‘heh!’ at his advice. Watanuki smiled, and looked at his brothers, and cousin. 

“Well guys, let’s get ready.” 

________

 

Noah reached out to Doumeki on Sunday morning, coming to his apartment with his eyes turned down. Doumeki opened the door at the knock, and was both surprised and not to see him. Before he could speak, Noah looked up, and twitched his face into something like a smile, but was far too guilty. 

“Hey, Shizuka,” he murmured, and Doumeki let his face soften, finding he wasn’t nearly as mad as he thought he’d be, seeing him again. Watanuki had been right, that what Noah had done was unfair, and very much not okay, but Doumeki could see that he hadn’t done it on purpose, and coming here was a sure sign he was sorry. 

He’d still make him say it though. 

“Hi, Noah,” Doumeki said, stepping back. “C’mon in.” 

Noah stepped through the doorway, and Doumeki noticed that he was holding a card in both his hands, like it was a life line. Still, Doumeki didn’t say anything to start this off, just kept his face blank - as he’d been told he was good at. Noah swallowed. 

“Shizuka, I’m so sorry, man. I never meant to make you give that away- I had, I didn’t know, and when I-, I mean, I never would have-” 

Doumeki nodded, holding up a hand to stop his ramblings. “It’s okay, Noah.” 

“I had no idea-” 

“I know,” Doumeki interrupted again. “It’s okay.” 

Noah looked slightly less miserable, so Doumeki nodded to the card in his hands.

“What’s that?” 

Noah looked down like he’d forgotten that he was holding it. 

“Kaya organized an apology card, and I wanted to bring it over. It’s from everyone who was there. Zuka, no one thinks badly of you, I want you to know that.” 

Doumeki half smiled, and took the card. “Thanks,” he said, slipping it into his pocket to read later. Noah deflated, looking relieved. Doumeki relaxed too, letting their normal, cousin relationship reestablish.

“So, a boyfriend, huh? He a good guy?” Noah asked, somewhat awkwardly. Doumeki let out a little huff, as Noah would always be Noah - nosy as hell, even after all this. He folded his arms, and leaned on the wall. 

“The best,” he said, simply, and Noah nodded. 

“Good, that’s good. Think I can meet him sometime?” 

Doumeki remembered Watanuki’s ire towards his cousins. 

“Maybe wait a while. He’s kinda more mad than I was,” Doumeki said, and Noah winced. 

“Yikes. Maybe I can make it up to him…” 

Doumeki nodded, because he didn’t think Watanuki would hold a grudge forever, and he really did want his boyfriend to meet his whole family, now that it was out. 

Noah hugged him, and left, looking relieved, and Doumeki closed the door, and texted Watanuki. 

_Noah just apologized, and brought a card from everyone_

Watanuki replied back quickly. 

_Did you tell him no way, bring cookies next time?_

_No_ Doumeki rolled his eyes. 

_I know. That’s good then. Honestly, glad the whole thing wasn’t worse_

Doumeki knew it could have been. His family was great. 

_It’s all fine now. Or, it will be when you get home._

_3 more days, you dweeb_

Doumeki half chuckled, and leaned back against the entry wall. Almost automatically at this point, Doumeki thought about what time it was for Watanuki, and he found that the wedding was probably going to start within the half hour. Curious, he texted. 

_How’s the wedding?_

Watanuki texted back quickly, like he was waiting to complain. 

_Dad’s panicking. Which is stupid, they’ve been together for years. I keep telling him nothing will change. But it’ll be over soon, and they can go back to their normal lives._

_Maybe married is different than living together, for your dad_

_But it’s not. They’ll do all the same things, she just has a ring on her finger_

Doumeki tilted his head, considering. It wasn’t like he had any experience, or was even thinking about anything that serious with Watanuki yet. They’d been dating for less than a year, and hadn’t promised anything to each other. But (and he wouldn’t say this out loud) he thought that he could understand Tom’s fears and hopes; that those promises did make a difference. He put the thoughts away though. 

_Maybe you’re right. He’ll get through it_

_Yeah, I’ll make sure of it. Okay, gotta go do wedding stuff_

_Yup, see you soon_

_Three days, idiot_

__________

The day was insanity. If someone had asked how Watanuki was during the chaos, he would have had no answer, because everything was looking after the boys, and making sure their and his own suits were still neat, and he was in the right place, and the wind didn’t blow the awning over. Watanuki only breathed again, it seemed, when he stood by his father and watched his face light up as Tom saw Miranda come down the aisle. He could only be happy for him. 

Later, as his father and step mom (officially!) danced, Watanuki found himself thinking about Doumeki. Not really about the future - that was a whole land mine he was _not_ ready to consider yet, thank you very much! - just, about how far they’d come. Watanuki missed him, cared about him, and really couldn’t wait to get back to him, and back to their regular lives. But, as he’d told him, only a few more days. 

And those days flew by, with goodbyes with Syaoran (who promised to keep in touch since they practically lived in the same neighborhood) the trip with his family (his brother’s were monsters in public places, but Watanuki did his best to keep them occupied, so that Tom and Miranda could enjoy themselves) and then packing for the return trip. He was stuffing the clothes that had somehow multiplied since he’d been here back into his suitcase, cursing a bit at how ‘they definitely fit before, he didn’t buy that much, and _why_ couldn’t he get this damn thing to close-’ when his dad came in and leaned on the door. 

“What’d that suitcase ever do to you?”

Watanuki, huffing and puffing as he jammed it down, smiled a bit. “Shrink, that’s what. It’s the only explanation.”

“Makes sense. Maybe Miranda ran it through the wash - don’t tell her I said that.” 

Watanuki laughed, and zipped up the edge, finally. “Got it! I can’t bring _anything_ else home.” 

Tom smiled. “So, you don’t have room for this then,” he said, and pulled something out from behind his back. Something that Watanuki remembered so well a knot clogged up his throat. 

“Dad!” he said, wonderment in his voice. Watanuki came over to see closer the book that Tom was holding. 

It was his, from when he was almost nine. When he’d been ready to move to California with his mom, after their divorce, the thing he’d ben most inconsolable about was that his dad couldn’t teach him to cook from across the country. So, in the week before they were to leave, Tom had taken time off work, and stayed up late for five days, putting together a cookbook for him. In crooked, cut out letters, the cover read:

‘Kimihiro’s Cookbook #1’

He’d had that cookbook with him, growing up and trying out every recipe in it, until sometime in his teenage years, when he’d lost track of it. 

“You found it here!” he said, thinking he must have brought it over a summer, and left it here. The pages were spotted with oil, and a little crumpled, but it still looked just the same. 

“We were pulling out boxes to fix up the guest room, and I found it. You want it back?” 

“Yes!” Watanuki said, reaching out for it, and opening it to a random page. A crépe recipe, that looked so like his own, but with a tweak. He was looking forward to trying these again. “Thanks!” 

Tom laughed, and put his hand on Watanuki’s head. “Heh, you’re welcome kid. I’m glad you got so much use out of it.” 

“It was perfect, dad,” Watanuki said, smiling. “Thank you, really.” 

Tom dragged him close for a rough hug, before letting him go. 

“Ready?” he asked, and Watanuki picked up his things, tucking the cook book carefully into his carry on, before nodding. 

“Ready.” 

 

_____________

 

Doumeki got the notice from Watanuki that his flight was landed, and left his car to head into the airport. He’d decided to park, in order to go inside and meet him, and so he’d been there early enough to fiddle around on his phone, trying to dispel the flutters of nervous excitement. This week had been an ordeal, and the fact that Watanuki was so far away had only made it worse. But, he was almost home. 

The rest of the weekend and week hadn’t been that bad. He’d spent time with Himawari, and his roommates, and cleaned his room, and Watanuki’s fridge. And of course work took up the same time it always took. 

Then he’d been surprised with a package at Watanuki’s place, addressed to Watanuki _and_ him, from Akira. He’d opened it (his name was on it, after all) to find the historic artifacts that she’d been talking about at dinner last week. She must have sent it right after arriving home. Doumeki spent an evening reading and examining it all, which passed by hours without him noticing. 

But now, it was Wednesday evening, a week after he left, and Watanuki’s arrival was on time. He walked as quickly as everyone else was (as airports seemed to have a general air of hurry anyway) and made it to the baggage claim at the same time the luggage with Watanuki’s flight number started sliding down the shoot.

“Doumeki!” he heard, from behind him. Watanuki, loud as usual, hurrying through the crowds with his backpack over his shoulder, a stressed frown on his face. He was waving, and Doumeki waved back, moving forward to meet him, happiness rising as he saw Watanuki again for the first time in a week. Watanuki was frowning, like usual, but the frown fell away as he got closer, and he saw that Doumeki was smiling. Teeth and all. 

“Hey-oh!” Watanuki’s voice was cut off, as Doumeki hugged him close, pulling him in tightly and tucking his chin over Watanuki’s shoulder. Watanuki huffed, and squeezed him back, two hands clasping his back. He wouldn’t kiss him in public, but Doumeki didn’t think he could have gone another minute without reaching out to him. A beat later, Watanuki was squirming, patting his back and pulling away. “Okay, okay, good to see you too.” 

Doumeki was still smiling, and he made sure to not let it fall until Watanuki smiled back at him, radiant as the sun. 

“Really good to see you,” Watanuki amended, fiddling with the edge of his glasses, but still meeting his eyes. Doumeki reminded himself that they were in public, and they couldn’t kiss. 

“You too,” Doumeki said, reaching out to take the backpack from Watanuki. The moment passed, as Watanuki frowned at that and tried to snatch it back. 

“Hey, I can carry that,” he said, but Doumeki didn’t let him. “Ugh, carry the suitcase, if you want to be all chivalrous.” 

“How was the flight?” Doumeki asked, and Watanuki let out a breath. 

“Long. I told the pilot to fly safe, so you didn’t have to worry,” he said, nudging his side. Doumeki smirked, remembering their joke. 

“Glad he listened. Let’s get your bag.” 

Watanuki nodded, then he perked up. “Oh, and I have something to show you! And, I brought presents for people. Did you take care of the plants like I asked? You didn’t kill them did you?” 

Doumeki huffed. “No, I didn’t.” 

Watanuki narrowed his eyes. “Didn’t kill them, or didn’t take care of them, cause I swear, Doumeki-” 

“They’re fine,” Doumeki assured him. “All taken care of.” 

“Good, that’s a relief- oh! There’s my bag, grab it, grab it!” It was coming on Doumeki’s side, so he reached onto the conveyor belt, and picked up the suitcase as directed, before straightening. 

“Okay, anything else?” 

“No, let’s get out of here.” 

The drive home was giddy, and light, with them both holding hands over the gear shift, and meeting each other’s eyes at stop lights, telling each other the mundane details of their time spent apart. And if Doumeki pulled Watanuki in for a kiss as soon as they crossed the threshold of Watanuki’s apartment, and Watanuki went willingly, then that was nobody else’s business.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is it! Thank you, for those who made it through this. 10 chapters of ocs, and the main two separated for most of the fic... I know I asked a lot, so I'm happy for those who have enjoyed it, even a little. Thank you all so much!
> 
> I'll probably remember some things I meant to make note of, but right now all I remember is to put credit where credit is due, and say that this wouldn't have been possible without username_goes_here aka Rémy, my good friend who worked on this with me last year, and whose notes make much of the source material for the finished product. Tom Li and family belongs to her, as does LaVon. THANK YOU!! 
> 
> Also, if you'd like to know what Syaoran and co. are up to in this universe, I do have some ideas, and I'm considering writing a fic or two for the Tsubasa family :) So that could be coming up. 
> 
> After this, the plan is to go back to those short moments of fic. I feel like we've got douwata firmly established, so further explorations will be done, but I won't stick so strictly to a timeline. They'll probably be in chronological order though, still.

**Author's Note:**

> This story came together with a lot of plot points and threads that I decided to jam together into a single story, all with the common theme of family, and the complex relationships therein. The story then grew to 10+ chapters, so get ready for the long haul. I'm not quite done, but I decided to post today in honor of Watanuki's birthday, since I won't have time to write something new. 
> 
> username_goes_here helped with dialogue and the beginning plot lines, plus brainstorming the rest way back when :)
> 
> I hope you guys (you're so the best!) enjoy this monster. I did not expect it to get this big, but get ready for family drama, fun times, and more!


End file.
